Massive rope fenders are great for tying up in a storm to an unforgiving concrete sea wall. They won't pop, they won't tear, and they won't give. The problem is they also won't hold their shape when pounding into the wall for days!
We were tied up to a wall in Terciera, Azores and the weather picked up. The swell inside the marina became rather unrelenting and we were being hammered into the wall every few seconds. The fenders soon became flattened and our wood rub rail was only inches away from scraping away on the stone. It was time to double up!
I simply tied a second fender over the current fender and let the two of them share the abuse! You can see how the rope got very chafed during the next two days, leading to a matted mess of fibers that have been lifted from the three-lay rope.
The fenders got very scuffed, but our topsides survived flawlessly! The flatness of the fender rolls out easily when you put it away in storage, only to reform the next time the fender is deployed.
Keeping plenty of strong fenders on board is crucial if you plan on cruising to new countries where the mooring situation might be a bit risky to your yacht and anchoring is nearly impossible.
