[Rhodes22-list] Fenders?

[DCLewis1 at aol.com]

Hank, Will, Mary Lou, BobW, BobS, everyone,
 
Thank you all for responding to my fender query.  Based on your input,  I 
think our first step is to actually visit the slip they’ve given us and see  what 
our neighbors use.  I gather there’s no canonical solution.
 
Will,  Flat sounds great, but they’re not going to roll if the boat is  
moving fore and aft, they’re just going to rub and abrade against the  
pier/piling/whatever.  Have you actually used flat fenders?  Do they  work well for you?  
If you do use them, what thickness and length do you  use?  I can see where 
they’d be great for stowing, you could use them  as seats, life-preservers, a 
lot of things.  But I worry that they will get  pinched and abraded when the 
boat moves fore and aft against a pier where  cylindrical and spherical fenders 
just roll.
 
Mary Lou, Thanks, I serendipitously got a message from Elton to begin  
arranging for delivery.  I responded asking if he provided special fenders  with his 
delivery.  I had noted the fenders you use in the West Marine  catalog and 
they looked interesting, but I didn’t know what a good size was  (looks to me 
like you’re using the shortest length) and whether they rolled  sufficiently 
given their shape.  I gather they work well for you.   Thank you.
 
BobW, Yours is a very interesting concept that we may just use for  docking.  
We may keep one onboard in the event we opt to sail to and tie up  at a 
public pier - I think it’s a great idea.  But we’re one of a number of  fingered 
slips in a pretty small area and we are required to motor in that  area verrry 
slooowly.  I expect that we will be moving so  slowly as we approach our tie 
up that we may not have to worry about  caroming off the side of a pier.  At a 
public pier, where we might try to  boldly come in under sail and dock 
expeditiously - thus displaying the  limits of our sailing abilities and testing the 
limits of our liability  insurance - I think your approach is good.  In fact, 
I think I’d like  to surround the hull with bubble wrap
 
BobS,  I hope we won’t wind up having to sling a 2x6 off the side and  back 
them with cylindrical fenders.  I’ll keep it in mind though.
 
Dave