Doubling Up Your Fenders

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. 

Rope Fenders

Several years ago, I began building a set of rope fenders. They are big, heavy, and honestly serious overkill for stateside cruising (especially on the East Coast). Our journey down the East Coast of the United States and into the Bahamas involved anchoring everywhere we went (where fenders are not needed) or tying up in a marina which had padding on the finished wooden edge of the pier. The weather is always calm and there is little wave action inside the marina that would push your topsides up against the pier.

I honestly began to view our old rope fenders as overkill and dead weight on the deck, until we made landfall in the Azores! 

The Azores are small volcanic islands in the Atlantic with no protection from the weather. If the seas are big, they will be powerful inside the breakwater as well. The marina i also made of a few floating slips and a lot of large concrete sea walls that you tie up to. Pounding into these is a sure way to pop an inflatable fender!

Fenders alone will not save your topsides here, you need fender boards. Luckily, I made the rope fenders long enough that they themselves function as fender boards. This kept our hull a few inches away from the unforgiving concrete pier and large rusty ladder that sits in a small recess. 

If you plan on voyaging to distant lands, do your research about the mooring situation before you leave that way you can arrive prepared to safely tie up! 

Siding Around The Fenders

Construction of the tiny house is proceeding smoothly, everything is square and all the edges are straight. Then you come to the fenders, which have curves and rounded edges that do not readily accept the siding.

To make life easier, the perimeter of the siding will have a splash of trim. This trim allows me to put off the fine fitment of the finished product until later, and lets me work with much smaller pieces as I fit everything. Lets face it, fitting a small cover board to the fender is much easier than manhandling a 6 foot board!

The front of the fender on the door side of the tiny house needs a very small section of siding placed, but it took a lot of measuring to get it all lined up perfectly. The siding on both sides of the door will meet above the door and if there is any discrepancy between the heights of the siding, it will be notable above the door when they don't meet properly. Careful measurements using the trailer as a reference point made everything line up and look even.

It all starts by removing the lower section of the batten off to make room for the new siding. Then install the starter strip at the bottom. This strip simply gives the bottom plank the right amount of flare to allow water to drip off the lowest strake without pooling and rotting out the plywood sheathing.

Be sure that the bottom of the board doesn't contact the fender as this will cause the water to pool and rot will set in promptly. A slight gap allows water to drip and drain off while also allowing air to flow under it and dry the area out, further preventing mildew and mold growth.

With the first board in place, not contacting the fender and properly flared to promote dripping, the rest of the siding proceeds quickly. The second board simply goes right over the nail line of the first board and the siding installation proceeds quickly and effortlessly.

The second strake is the last strake that needs to be beveled around the fender. The three inch gap is maintained as it runs up the side of the fender, but from there on, the edges are once again square and work proceeds much quicker.

In no time, the rest of that section of wall will be sided and the tiny house will look much more like a house and much less like a Halloween decoration!

Rope Fenders in Action

The rope fenders for Wisdom took much monger than expected! I thought they would take a few days to make and that it would give me something to do in my spare time last winter. The reality is they took up all my time last winter. 

Each fender consumed massive amounts of rope and time, taking almost the entire winter to complete. Instead of being a "spare time project", they were the main project. I still remember staying in a few weekends to work on and finish the rope fenders.  

When the massive sausage shaped behemoths were completed, worry about their weight was frequently asked. They weigh too much for Maddie to lift, so I am forced to bear their full weight. Luckily, being made of rope with hundreds of loops, I can grab on to them in any position; making manhandling them very easy. 

While weight may seem undesirable, I actually wanted them to be quite heavy. I have no desire to store bulky fenders in the lazarettes, so I ended up keeping them on the side decks. 

When we were in strong weather, these fenders would be picked up by the wind and dribbled on the deck like a bunch of basketballs. The constant pounding and smacking would make me want to throw them overboard! The only thing that stopped me was the fact that they are made of plastic and would only add to the already very serious problem of floating plastic debris in our oceans. For these reasons, I wanted to make fenders that were too heavy to float in the wind!  

Now they remain in constant contact with the deck. I am concerned with a boarding wave washing them off, as well as them rolling about the deck when we heel; which is why I tie one of their ends to the toe rail. 

When deploying them, having an end tied is also insurance against loss by dropping them in the water. Being made of solid rope, they do not float. Keeping one end tied ensures that if dropped, it can still be recovered.

Keeping that end tied is also helpful in reducing the amount of weight I need to bear when setting them. I can rest the fender on that tied end while I get it into position. Then the other end is tied to hold the fender at the appropriate height. While each fender is very heavy to dead lift, keeping one end tied to work off of greatly reduces the functional weight. 

I like to set them right on the rub rail. This ensures that the maximum distance between me and the rafted boat next to me will be maintained. My rub rail also extends a few inches (it's wide enough to comfortably walk on) and I would hate for it to shoot over the fender and dig into someone's gel coat. 

For added distance and protection, rafting boats can set their plastic fenders against my rope fenders. This way, none of the boats get hurt and we can all enjoy an afternoon together.  

Sailing Corgi

Morty is an experienced sailing dog: he grew up on a sailboat and has been sailing since he was a 8 weeks old. At the age of 3, you can tell his favorite parts of sailing are. 

He will sit out in the wind, smelling the air that blows over our boat as we power through the waves. He sifts through scents from beyond the horizon while resting in his comfy seat on the deck. 

The massive rope fenders are a new favorite place for him to relax. He likes to lean into them when he goes forward on the deck. I think he feels comforted by their size and weight. Before the fenders, he would snuggle up in a jib that was flaked on the bow. He was only able to do this if the jib (Josh) was not raised. Under full sail, he would need to find something else to snuggle up to.  

He will  always have us when he needs some pets, and we are easy for him to find on board the boat while underway!