Piling Covers

[MicroKap]

Does anyone have any experience with something, other than firehose, to put on pilings. All of the "West Marine" stuff gets flattened by the rub rail until it becomes a rough surface. The slip that I am in is fairly narrow, fixed dock with port finger. It would be generous to say that I have about 6" of clearance on each side at the widest part of the beam. The appropriate size fenders won't fit properly from the boat and do become a pain if the boat shifts in the slip due to winds. I'm looking for something substantial that will not damage the boat to put on the pilings. We have a tide range of around 4 feet.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Larry K.
1980 60' Sportfish
Monmouth Beach, NJ

 

[Megalodon45C]

Try some wide diameter PVC pipe, like 12 to 18 inch cut it in half length ways and the nail or screw it to the pilings, works pretty good.

 

[Nonchalant1]

I had old 1" braided dock lines that I just wrapped around and around the pilings for the area where the rub rail contacts the piling. It stops the rub rail from eating into the piling and it's much quieter at night. I just nailed one end to the outside side of the piling, wrapped it and nailed the other end.

Doug

 

[labrador]

Larry, I was out the other night and went by your boat and was wondering the same thing when I saw how narrow your slip was.Don't have any ideas however just wanted to say how nice MICROCAP looks. Talk to you later.
Skip

 

[MicroKap]

Skip,
Next time, stop and say hi or give a toot and I'll come out on the bow or meet you on the T-dock. I was going over the Oceanic Bridge earlier today and saw your boat through the fog. Salt Shaker is now at Atlantis, a few slips down. We're both in the middle of some renovations, so we have a lot to talk about. I hope all is well with you and stay away from the sunk boat that keeps moving in the Navesink. Since you've now come up the channel, how's it looking in the Navesink this season?

Also, I like the slip because the boat doesn't have the ability to move very much and it's easier for docking. Once the transom is between the pilings, it's a piece of cake. The boat is very predictable and is not subjected to too much affect from the wind and there's not much of a current down there. If you like, come in as a transit for overnight sometime so you get a feel if you would like to do something more permanent. Just like you have Barnacle Bill's, we have Salle T's in walking distance, plus a full service yard next door if we need it.

Larry K.
1980 60' Sportfish
Monmouth Beach, NJ

 

[hcalmar]

You may want to check out slidemoor.com a bumber that rides 6' on a track and there is another company Tide slide witha similar product. Hal

 

[Liquid Asset]

I know you said you dont want to use firehose, but what I do at my dock is buy some of the black round insulation the Air conditioner installers use that goes over the coper pipes and put it inside the firehose. once that is done, I attach it to the pilings and it gives a padded firehose to act as a fender. It works well and lasts for a long time. Just a thought.

 

[Matt]

UHMW (ultra high molecular weight plastic) works well. HDPE (high density polyethelene) is less expensive and would probably work too.

Matt

 

[Pascal]

how about some starboard... a 6" wide vertical strip, taller than the normal tidal range.

screwed on the side, it bends nicely to follow the piling shape. rub rail shoudl slide up and down nicely and not dig in too much.

 

[MicroKap]

I'm not looking to tie my boat up to the pilings tight. I'm looking for something that will provide more cushioning when the boat drifts a couple of inches. The dock is fixed with a port finger that comes out about 40 feet. To use the Slide Moor, the pilings have to be perfectly in line with the cleats in order for the system to work properly. I'm looking for something to put on the pilings "permanently" rather than having to set up all the fenders each time I come back to the slip.

Larry K.
1980 60' Sportfish
Monmouth Beach, NJ

 

[Traveler 45C]

I like the idea of using the old dock lines. I mean, what are we gonna’ do with the old lines anyway?

I thought about using old lines wrapped around the pilings to chaff protect my permanent dock lines. I would just wrap my permanent dock lines on top of the old lines.

Any disadvantages to doing this?

 

[jetpowered]

I have tried a number of solutions, but nothing has worked for me in the long run. I keep going back to the plain piling. I am still looking though, but my boat has eaten and trashed a number of different type bumber materials.

 

[Pascal]

i dont' know how anything can effectively cushion a 50k lbs boat short of big oversized fenders. on pilings fender boards are the only way but with so little clearance it doens't seem like it's going to be an option for you.

when i'm tied side to a dock, even regular fenders take a beating and get compressed real hard; when a breeze picks up, big round fenders are a must (18" work fine), but that wont work on pilings.

some pilings do provide cushioning effect when they flex, of course, not when they're set against a fized dock