Rope Boat Fenders

Updated September 7, 2009. I just got in from my first major rope boat fender/bumper making session. The first of my designs is in. Click on the images for higher resolution.  

These fenders/bumpers were designed and built for use on the 'Harvest King' boat in the back ground. 

The core of the fenders is a 5' piece of 3" PVC pipe with a 100' long, 4' wide strip of 1 1/8" nylon fish net wrapped around it. I left the core hollow so that it would be easy to change out the eye/loop tie-up rope if it ever needs to be replaced. The eye/loop rope is a piece of 1 5/8" polysteel rope with a double wall and crown tack knot at one end and an eye splice at the other. The fender cover is made with 15 strands of 3/4" polysteel and/or polypropolene rope that are right hand walled. The ends are right crowned and tucked the entire length of the fender. The ends were then machanically tightened with a crane.   

By the time I got two my third fender, I began experimenting with the limited amount of different colours that I had access to work with. The fenders measure about 3 1/2' - 4' in length and are about 1 1/2' wide. They weight in at about 100 lbs. I tied one to the dock and through it in the water. 2-3 hours later it was still floating 3-4" out of the water.