Docking/Mooring

[TrickyNicky]

Hey guys here's my situation:

Our boat stays at the cottage on a baot lift with canopy on one side of our property. On the other side there is a small VERY quiet bay (exclusive to us) that never gets rough. We have an old floating dock there. We leave the boat on the lift covered when we are not there but usually leave it in the water throughout the day/weekend tied to the quiet bays floating dock. I want something that can protect the bu when tied to the dock. I have fenders but am trying to avoid using them on a regular basis. The only time we dock elsewhere is to get gas and we can hold the boat oursleves for that period of time.

So I'm looking for a style of dock fender that can be permanantly attached to the dock and will be sufficient. I was also thinking about whips but would still want some type of dock fender to protect the boat form any over-enthusiastic docking. Essentially I want to return from the water to the dock and have everything ready to just clip onto the boat and hop ashore without any worry about the boat getting damaged. I also don't want to spend very much since this is a quiet bay and for any extended or rough water period of time the boat will be on the lift.

Any Suggestions or recommendations is greatly appreciated.

The thing's I've looke into are:

- Dock fenders (what style, if the boat is pushed up against it will it damage the gel coat for extended (years) use)

- Mooring whips (pricey, would probably still put some type of fender)

- Bungee docking lines

Any Suggestions or recommendations is greatly appreciated.

Edited May 20, 2010 by TrickyNicky

[Bill_AirJunky]

This is what I keep my Vride in the boat slip with. No bumpers at all. Just PVC, rope & stainless carabiners, all from Home Depot. I've been using it for about 5 yrs now. Works so well that 5 or 6 of my neighbors use it on their own boat now.

I got the idea from the various mooring products available on sites like Overtons.

[TrickyNicky]

I saw these at our local cottage show and they looked like they would be effective. What do you guys think?

Do you think having the boat pinned up against these continuously would be bad for the gelcoat?

[Bobby Light]

This is what I keep my Vride in the boat slip with. No bumpers at all. Just PVC, rope & stainless carabiners, all from Home Depot. I've been using it for about 5 yrs now. Works so well that 5 or 6 of my neighbors use it on their own boat now.

I got the idea from the various mooring products available on sites like Overtons.

How do you keep all that hardware from hitting your boat when it moves?

[Bill_AirJunky]

How do you keep all that hardware from hitting your boat when it moves?

The only place the hardware touched at all was on the back, drivers side. I have since added a piece of rubber garden hose to the rope near the carabiner.

I think I could just remove the PVC in the back & the boat would be fine.

[Bobby Light]

The only place the hardware touched at all was on the back, drivers side. I have since added a piece of rubber garden hose to the rope near the carabiner.

I think I could just remove the PVC in the back & the boat would be fine.

Cool that's what I was wondering, how the hardware was moving around back there so close to the gelcoat.

[-BS-]

This is what I keep my Vride in the boat slip with. No bumpers at all. Just PVC, rope & stainless carabiners, all from Home Depot. I've been using it for about 5 yrs now. Works so well that 5 or 6 of my neighbors use it on their own boat now.

I got the idea from the various mooring products available on sites like Overtons.

.....and that is how you do that. Nice setup Bill!

[Bill_AirJunky]

.....and that is how you do that. Nice setup Bill!

Thanks guys. The guys at the Coeur d'Alene Yacht Club are working hard to fill our lake full of their boats. There are now 4 Malibus on our dock.... all using some variation of this method to tie into the slips. 2 Vrides, a Sunscape & a VLX.

Oh, one last note. I double tubed the PVC to the bow..... a 1.25" piece of PVC inside the 2". We had a freak storm blow in with the old boat & broke that tube. Never had a problem with the Vride though.

I've used the black or white PVC (sewer or fresh water). Both will work, but the white gets pretty funky with green stuff growing on it. The black does too, just harder to see. All the rope is the rot/mildew proof stuff that HD sells for like $10 / 50' of it.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Bill_AirJunky

[rat01]

I have dock whips. I highly recommend them. The lake we use them at is a typical mountain lake. It can get very windy without much warning. The whips have no metal near the boat, only the lines. The boat stays about 2-3 feet from the dock even in the strongest winds and just rocks with the waves. No bumping against the dock.

[dscorker]

Hands Down, the best mooring lines, dock lines, bumper covers is Top Knot Mooring Lines. Even custom Malibu logo sewn into ropes and dock lines. Check it out. www.mooringlines.com. Every Color, rot and mildew resistent. Really finishes the BU off at the dock.

[Tyger]

I love my small Hull Huggers. They make a full size one. Kinda pricey, but they are nice.

[Calgary25LSV]

Hi All,

I good friend and fellow Malibu owner ran across a new product that may be a winner. Its an inflatable boat fender called a Hull Kushion. You can check it out at www.hullkushion.com. They are 9 foot long inflatable tubes with neoprene covers and multiple attachment points. They would seem to offer much better protection than the standard vertically hanging bumpers. I think they're a bit pricey but as my buddy so eloquently put it "doesn't it seem kinda silly to leave the protection of your $65,000 boat to $35 plastic bumpers?"

Cheers

[Living the Dream]

Hi All,

I good friend and fellow Malibu owner ran across a new product that may be a winner. Its an inflatable boat fender called a Hull Kushion. You can check it out at www.hullkushion.com. They are 9 foot long inflatable tubes with neoprene covers and multiple attachment points. They would seem to offer much better protection than the standard vertically hanging bumpers. I think they're a bit pricey but as my buddy so eloquently put it "doesn't it seem kinda silly to leave the protection of your $65,000 boat to $35 plastic bumpers?"

Cheers

What about us down across the border....no sales in the US and no price listed Can we smuggle them across the border??

I can see that the covers would get pretty nasty sitting in the water...might be a pain to keep clean with the canvas type material covers

Edited September 29, 2010 by Living the Dream

[Bill_AirJunky]

Hi All,

I good friend and fellow Malibu owner ran across a new product that may be a winner. Its an inflatable boat fender called a Hull Kushion. You can check it out at www.hullkushion.com. They are 9 foot long inflatable tubes with neoprene covers and multiple attachment points. They would seem to offer much better protection than the standard vertically hanging bumpers. I think they're a bit pricey but as my buddy so eloquently put it "doesn't it seem kinda silly to leave the protection of your $65,000 boat to $35 plastic bumpers?"

Cheers

I think I'd let someone else test these out on their own boat, especially over the long term. In my experience a bumper that is constantly rubbing on a boat will rub right thru any decals. And any dirt or grunge that gets on the bumper is ground into the boat hull over & over & over.

I do think they would be great for a raft up though. Same stuff applies. But the bumper isn't in the water long enough for dirt & grunge to accumulate on it. And your talking hours, not days & weeks.

Personally I have a pair of Hippity Hops and a small pump in the boat for any temporary docking situations (like our recent week of camping in Hells Canyon). Their cheap & if I leave them tied on a dock to claim my spot & they disappeared when we were out riding.... well, no loss. I also have a pair of the nice big 30" bumpers too. But carrying more than a pair of them is costly (too costly to loose) & takes up a lot of storage space.