Bumper stowage and deployment

[aevdg]

I am interested in ideas for stowing and deploying bumpers particularly for KK42s. Pictures would be great. Thanks!

 

[Seevee]

Great post, and I'd be interested, too. Shopping for fenders baskets as we speak....

 

[aboatman]

Great post, and I'd be interested, too. Shopping for fenders baskets as we speak....

If you're talking about the wire baskets that attach to the bow rails, I think you'll find that they obstruct your vision somewhat and if you install them outside the bow rail, they will get hit by pilings when docking. I don't see a lot of actual cruising boats using them.

We just flip our fenders up onto the side decks and then kick them back down when we need them. The pair at the stern hang in the cockpit when not in use.

 

[boatpoker]

Thats where we keep them.

 

[Gabe n Em]

We have two baskets on either side of the bow and I agree that they hinder vision somewhat. We also keep 2 large poly's tied to our home slip. There's nowhere to keep them aboard unless they get deflated and thrown in the laz each time which is a major pain. If we do end up taking them, we usually just roll them around on the bow. Definitely not the best.

A dockmate of ours had a third basket made that he had hose clamped to his other two. It was actually just a pvc pipe with two caps. the lower cap had a drain hole drilled, the upper cap was loose. He used this to store his dock lines. I thought it would be a great idea if I always drove from the upper helm.

 

[psneeld]

whoa...hinder vision?

well yes but certainly depending on the boat and where on the bow you place them is important...

having them handy and near or probable deployment areas is good....

but many times that is in the way too....never having cruised a KK42 or studying layout and pucs, sorry no suggestions but know every design is a little different.

 

[drb1025]

I tie mine to the railing when expecting to anchor. They don’t impair my vision. Otherwise I leave them attached and bring them over the bulwark while underway to a marina.

 

[markpierce]

Thats where we keep them.

Aaaahhh! Deployed fenders while underway??!!

Lay my fenders on the wide decks still tied to the railings while underway. But have on occasion forgotten to do that.

 

[ben2go]

There nothing better than to see a boat with 5 to 10 fenders hang off the sides.

:lol:

 

[Northern Spy]

Is this some type of TF OCD test?

I keep mine tied off and inboard when I remember and get around to it once underway.

 

[McGillicuddy]

Have rail racks that don’t disturb the view from the pilot house. This is view from seat on the foredeck when underway.

 

[Conrad]

We have baskets for 6 fenders on the foredeck our Nordic Tug 42, three on either side. Prior to installing them we wondered about visibility but it is a non issue.

The only impact is on accessibility to the bow line hawse holes, but that is very minor.

 

[Larry M]

The fender holders were on Hobo when we bought her. They'll take up to about a 12" diameter. They work pretty well and I haven't seen anything that I would replace them with.

 

[Maerin]

We travel with 4 Taylor 10x26 fenders, plus 2 15" round bouy fenders. They stow in the port side anchor locker, so when we're underway, we have no fenders above decks. The locker is cavernous, and we never use the port side anchor, so it works great. We have 4 additional bigger bouy fenders that we deflate and stow deep in the crash locker. We break them out for locking or special conditions. We tie them to the upper boat deck to keep them out of the way if we need to stow them inflated.

By the way, Bumpers attach to the dock, Fenders hang off the boat.

 

[OldDan1943]

I am interested in ideas for stowing and deploying bumpers particularly for KK42s. Pictures would be great. Thanks!

Properly called, they are FENDERS.

 

[Ex Sailor]

If you're talking about the wire baskets that attach to the bow rails, I think you'll find that they obstruct your vision somewhat and if you install them outside the bow rail, they will get hit by pilings when docking. I don't see a lot of actual cruising boats using them.

We just flip our fenders up onto the side decks and then kick them back down when we need them. The pair at the stern hang in the cockpit when not in use.

I totally agree .... I ended up trashing my baskets and like you, we just leave them on deck hangin' off the railings with two more in the sundeck.

FB

 

[Ex Sailor]

There nothing better than to see a boat with 5 to 10 fenders hang off the sides.

:lol:

You mean over the side ? ... :lol:

 

[North Baltic sea]

Hi, I've found a good storage fly bridge railing 3 pieces ball bumper and the bumper 4 pieces on racks next to the staircase railing.




NT cocpit space for 4 pieces of bumper integrated.


In addition, two heavy fender board plank racks dingy below

NBs

 

[North Baltic sea]

We have baskets for 6 fenders on the foredeck our Nordic Tug 42, three on either side. Prior to installing them we wondered about visibility but it is a non issue.

The only impact is on accessibility to the bow line hawse holes, but that is very minor.

Hi

I had earlier on the front cover, but I exchanged racks up the fly bridge as the Baltic sea wave is between high and sharp. strikes over the deck and has badly struck the bumbers, and the visibility is more Limited, Now it's a bit more difficult to find longer bumpers, but I know they are safe when the cruise is high seas.



NBs

 

[markpierce]

Having the fenders (10 of them) permanently attached to the boat, deploying and retrieving them requires minimal effort (no tying and untying).

 

[O C Diver]

I keep 3 large ball fenders on the upper deck railing. These are for going through the locks. Normally they are inboard and lay over my kayak. When I deploy my kayak, I just flip them over the rail (this picture).



I prefer long horizontal fenders for docking and the occasional rafting. These are Polyform F8 fenders (15" x 58"). The stern one is tied to the upper railing for deployment, so it's easy to flip and tie it inside the upper railing when not in use. The forward one generally is deployed under the pilothouse door, so it gets moved to the upper deck when underway. When deployed, they are generally under the rub rail. I have 2 more of these that generally live in the dinghy. When it comes to fenders, bigger is better.



Ted

 

[Pack Mule]

Properly called, they are FENDERS.

We’ve always called them hooters,but we ain’t right ya know. We keep ours between a bulkhead and the anchor locker.

 

[BDofMSP]

I once had my fender cage let loose at 20 knots, creating a stainless encased bouncing missle. Fortunately it bounced over the bimini and didn't hit anyone. I threw it away.

 

[ben2go]

You mean over the side ? ... :lol:

 

[meridian]

We also store (2) ball fenders on the bow deck.

 

[ranger58sb]

We have double racks on the inside bow rails for two fenders forward on each side, and then another enclosed storage space for the rest.

But we've recently modified our own behavior, after being jerked around by almost every other dockmaster we've encountered in in our current cruise. Seems sometimes they say prepare for a port side tie-up when they mean exactly the opposite, and sometimes they mean prepare for a bow-in approach when they mean stern-to.

The consequence is of course that deck crew gets tired of retying/resetting fenders at usually the last minute, after we've gotten close to enough to discover the docking instructions were just all hosed up.

So now, when we're going to be underway off and on for several days/weeks at a time... we set three fenders on each side, two forward and one at the stern... usually adjusted low-ish as for floating docks... and they can be quickly adjusted upward on one side if necessary to mate with fixed docks (cow hitch being our friend, for that).

Then we just flip them up onto the deck when we get underway. They only go back into baskets or storage when we've decided to stay somewhere for a while...

-Chris

 

[diver dave]

Properly called, they are FENDERS.

In these inland lakes near me, the locals mostly deploy, what they call "bumpers" continuously. In my informal surveys, those two seem to go together. In my experience in Southern waters/ocean, fenders are used, and they most certainly are not constantly deployed.

In the AICW, you can witness these two types coexist.

 

[OldDan1943]

In these inland lakes near me, the locals mostly deploy, what they call "bumpers" continuously. In my informal surveys, those two seem to go together. In my experience in Southern waters/ocean, fenders are used, and they most certainly are not constantly deployed.

In the AICW, you can witness these two types coexist.

and some folks call the pointy end of the boat, the bow.

 

[diver dave]

A lot more ropes, pontoons, BBQ on dive platforms, trailer weed removal stickers, and 40 y/o outboards too.

 

[ben2go]

and some folks call the pointy end of the boat, the bow.

What if both ends are pointy?

27' St. Pierre Dory, one of the most seaworthy wood boats ever designed.