Fender Covers

Last year we bought black Polyform fender covers for all of our straight fenders and one ball.

Within nine months the black had turned to green, the covers are stretched thin and baggy and the ball cover got torn within months because of being against a dock edge (rather that against a flat surface).

We bought another ball cover but haven't put it on yet.

Really disappointed in the quality. We are taking them off and throwing them out when we finish the current trip this coming weekend. The oldish fenders will actually look better without them!

We are thinking of either just leaving the fenders bare or getting better quality covers. What have you guys used that stand the test of time in the Florida sun and water?

My fender covers are more than a decade old at this point. One of them is starting to wear through in a couple spots, but otherwise they're still holding up nicely. They're made of Sunbrella to match the canvas on the boat. As far as durability goes, the boat has always been kept tied to minimize fender contact when possible, so they don't see a ton of abrasion. Basically, they don't fade, stretch, etc. the only failure mode is when they wear through.

If you leave them uncovered, wax them periodically. Wax makes them much easier to clean and they look better. I've been considering using one leg of a XXL sweatpants to cover the balls in extremely nasty situations. Occasionally I've come up against a fender board with creosote. While you can clean the fender up somewhat, they're permanently stained. The sweatpants are cheap enough at Walmart that they would be throwaways in those situations.

Ted

Most of the commercially packaged fender covers are knit like socks - the only way you can get a tubular piece of cloth. The Polyform and Aere are. Being knit, they seem to stretch seemingly without limit, dragging in the water and picking up barnacles. I finally made some out of Boat Blanket from Sailrite. It was easy, they came out looking pretty good, and seem like they will last longer. At least they won't stretch and drag.

O C Diver said:

If you leave them uncovered, wax them periodically. Wax makes them much easier to clean and they look better. I've been considering using one leg of a XXL sweatpants to cover the balls in extremely nasty situations. Occasionally I've come up against a fender board with creosote. While you can clean the fender up somewhat, they're permanently stained. The sweatpants are cheap enough at Walmart that they would be throwaways in those situations.

Ted

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I have heard some use one XXL sweat pants for 3 covers. Each leg does a cylindrical fender and the remaining waist will cover a ball.
Use them a season and toss.

I haven’t used the Boat Blanket for fender covers but I do use it to cover bimini bows where they touch eisenglass and I cover rails with it to stop reflections form sunlight. It is self hemming and velcro sticks to it and you only have to sew the hook side if it will stick to the Boat Blanket. I also used it to cover the dash where POs drilled lots of holes. It also prevents glare from the dash and stuff from sliding around on the dash. Sorry for thread drift ...

Lena made fender covers out of Boat Blanket from Sailrite. After 13 years we’re on our second set and we’re still on the original bumpers that came with Hobo. Gentle on the paint and they will stand up to uv and the chaffing. They’re easy to make and if you don’t have a sewing machine, a canvas shop could make them easily.

https://www.sailrite.com/Fabrics/Marine-Fabric/Boat-Blanket

O C Diver said:

If you leave them uncovered, wax them periodically. Wax makes them much easier to clean and they look better. I've been considering using one leg of a XXL sweatpants to cover the balls in extremely nasty situations. Occasionally I've come up against a fender board with creosote. While you can clean the fender up somewhat, they're permanently stained. The sweatpants are cheap enough at Walmart that they would be throwaways in those situations.

Ted

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Before getting the covers I tried Armour All cleaner. Never again! They ended up being so sticky. I even threw them in the swimming pool for a couple of days - still sticky!

menzies said:

Before getting the covers I tried Armour All cleaner. Never again! They ended up being so sticky. I even threw them in the swimming pool for a couple of days - still sticky!

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Wrong product.

This is what I use a couple of times per year.



Ted

We used Mr. Clean Magic Erasers to get both our white and navy fenders almost completely clean. Then waxed them twice and made socks from something similar to Sailrite Boat Blanket fabric. So far so good.

O C Diver said:

Wrong product.

This is what I use a couple of times per year.

View attachment 110805

Ted

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We have been using that on our cars and boat for years, never tried it on fenders. Will have to give it a try.

O C Diver said:

Wrong product.

This is what I use a couple of times per year.

View attachment 110805

Ted

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Comodave said:

We have been using that on our cars and boat for years, never tried it on fenders. Will have to give it a try.

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If you like it on fenders, wait till you try it on cleaning your shore power cord! Make a modest effort to get the dirt off the cord. Apply the Nu Finish with a Scotch Brite sponge and rub off with a clean rag when dry. You will be amazed at the amount of dirt and mildew that comes off with the rag wipe both on the fenders and power cord.

Ted

Crap, I can barely keep up with my maintenance and some folks around here are waxing your fenders.

Mike_M said:

Crap, I can barely keep up with my maintenance and some folks around here are waxing your fenders.

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Come on now, you only have a 3 or4 month boating season in Michigan. You've got easy 8 months to wax your fenders.

Ted

Mike_M said:

Crap, I can barely keep up with my maintenance and some folks around here are waxing your fenders.

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You might be our kind of people!

Ha! I often think the same thing. I have great intentions, but... on the other hand it does bug me that the plastic lens over my steaming light way the heck up on the radar arch is cloudy and cracked. Gotta change that eventually.

kthoennes said:

Ha! I often think the same thing. I have great intentions, but... on the other hand it does bug me that the plastic lens over my steaming light way the heck up on the radar arch is cloudy and cracked. Gotta change that eventually.

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With you.

A couple of years ago we were leaving Mangrove Cay in the dark to run back across the stream. I turned on the running lights and after running for a while decided to check if they were all lit. All were, except for the red port light. I leaned down and gave it a light tap and it came on.

It comes on immediately about 50% of the time, the others I have to lightly tap the cover.

I keep thinking I have to take the cover off and sort out that bulb. But then I think, I am going to break that seal, and it is probably 18 years old. So I deal with it!

O C Diver said:

Come on now, you only have a 3 or4 month boating season in Michigan. You've got easy 8 months to wax your fenders.

Ted

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LOL, hey..my wife is the 3-month boater and I'm in it for 7. Truth be told, it's tough trying to keep up with a bunch of retired and semi-retired guys. 2 mindsets when I read half of these post, first, boy do I have a lot to learn. Second, how do I get a few more hours out of my day.

menzies said:

With you.

A couple of years ago we were leaving Mangrove Cay in the dark to run back across the stream. I turned on the running lights and after running for a while decided to check if they were all lit. All were, except for the red port light. I leaned down and gave it a light tap and it came on.

It comes on immediately about 50% of the time, the others I have to lightly tap the cover.

I keep thinking I have to take the cover off and sort out that bulb. But then I think, I am going to break that seal, and it is probably 18 years old. So I deal with it!

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That is why they make LED running lights, never have to mess with the bulbs...

O C Diver said:

Come on now, you only have a 3 or4 month boating season in Michigan. You've got easy 8 months to wax your fenders.

Ted

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We get 7 months on the water and in the other months when the boat is in the barn we do the heavy maintenance. I have the starboard engine out and am refurbing that side of the engine room. Changing the house bank to LiFePO4 batteries.

Comodave said:

That is why they make LED running lights, never have to mess with the bulbs...

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I know, but way down the list right now!

menzies said:

I know, but way down the list right now!

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Not if you run at night. Only takes once to be too much.

Comodave said:

Not if you run at night. Only takes once to be too much.

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? I check and tap it. Comes on. So way down the list.

menzies said:

? I check and tap it. Comes on. So way down the list.

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Until it doesn’t and you have a collision. Nav lights would be at the top of my list if I were ever to go out at night. Stuff happens when it is dark.

Try these guys for your fender covers - fender-covers.com. They are inexpensive, great quality, ship rapidly from Turkey of all places. We have used them over the past few years to replace fender covers as they have worn or faded, always great service, and surprisingly fast shipping.

Never seen the need for fender covers.

Mike_M said:

LOL, hey..my wife is the 3-month boater and I'm in it for 7. Truth be told, it's tough trying to keep up with a bunch of retired and semi-retired guys. 2 mindsets when I read half of these post, first, boy do I have a lot to learn. Second, how do I get a few more hours out of my day.

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I have 4 of the Polyform F7 tube fenders and 3 of the A5 ball fenders. Washing and waxing 2 tubes and the 3 balls involves at most about 2 hours of labor time (not counting the drying time after washing and applying the wax). Probably involves more time taking them home from the boat and storing them back on the boat.

Ted

I've used fender covers from this company for years and have been very happy with them:
Procover Boat Fender Covers


US Sales office; made in Turkey


I use the dark green and the color has NEVER rubbed off on my hull. Nor, have I observed them causing any wear on the hull. In fact, the main reason I started using them years ago was to reduce tiny scratches "clouding" the hull at each location where the vinyl fender was continually coming in contact with the hull.


I wash the fender covers once or twice a season in a washing machine. When doing canal/lock work, I rinse them off rather frequently - most often by simply dragging them in the water a bit while under way.


I replace the covers every 2-3 years because they do tend to fade a bit and get somewhat loose. They're inexpensive enough, so I don't view this as a problem.

Sunbrella covers lasted me ten years.