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Best Boat Fenders 2018


stachs1

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3 minutes ago, Gavin17 said:

I'm guessing they do blow them up each time  but don't use them that often. I tie to docks all the time but rarely to boats. I don't want to have to inflate my fenders 6 or 8 times a day.  I think the missions will suite my needs best and they're expensive for fenders but not a big deal in the grand scheme of boating costs. 

We usually just dock a couple times a day for breaks and I really like the look of those new Mission and the versatility. I went ahead and ordered those. Excited to see how they turn out.

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44 minutes ago, MystiikVLX said:

So for those that use the Exile or Babz balls, do you pump them up each time you want to use them? Does that get to be a pain?

I leave mine inflated in the storage compartment behind the drivers seat. I only have 2 right now and they fit in there fine along with all other docking/anchoring stuff. It doesn't take long to air them up and I just do it with my mouth. Maybe 1 minute for each ball. With a dual action hand pump I am sure it would be faster than that. 

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I leave mine deflated under the observers seat base. I keep stuff under there that i don't use often (tools, oar, spotlight etc). People have a problem getting that seat back in place easily so i try not to put anything in there that needs to be accessed regularly. 

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formulaben
10 hours ago, Bill_AirJunky said:

I've got the big Taylormade fenders, a pair of hippity hops & a pair of the Exile bumpers. They all have their place. The hippity hops/Exile balls blow up considerably larger than the Taylormade fenders (only about 10" around), which keeps the boats further apart when we're rafted up, reducing the likelihood that the tower racks will clash.

That's my issue.  I don't tie up a ton, but I do it often enough that it gives me indigestion just thinking about the consequences, so BABz here we come. 

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13 hours ago, MystiikVLX said:

So for those that use the Exile or Babz balls, do you pump them up each time you want to use them? Does that get to be a pain?

Depends on how much stuff I'm carrying around. I can chose to store them pumped up or deflated. It's only a pain for about 30 seconds. And worth it if I have a ton of people, coolers & PFDs on board that day.

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  • 1 year later...

Nice for quick use but I have a few complaints.  If feeding a rope through them and the cleat on the dock isn’t directly lined up with the fender, the rope angle pulls on and wants to turn the mission fender.  It still seems to protect but makes me a bit nervous.  

When tied up next to boats, they squeak.  Drives me nuts, so out came the trustee Exile balls.  

I do really like them for quick use at gas docks and stuff.  

 

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Oh, and had a buddy order BABZ and was shipped 3 slightly different sized balls. It annoys him and he wasn’t thrilled with the response from BABZ.   To be fair, one of my Exile balls is slightly a different shape than the others too.   

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6 minutes ago, srintx said:

Any reports on the Mission Fenders?

I have the mission fenders.  Like @hethj7 said, I like them for the convenience.  My boat goes on a boat lift so I don't use fenders a lot.  If I go to the sandbar, I usually go there with a friend on their pontoon.  I did use them this past weekend at my friend's dock.  It was a little choppy so the boat was bouncing up and down.  This caused the fender to loosen up and slide out of position.  I looked this up and Mission states that after the fenders are positioned in the right place, you need to pull down on the fender to lock the line in place.  I will see how well this works next time.  Hopefully they the line stays locked in place. 

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I use regular fenders with adjustable hangars off my Phender Pros for docking.

I use Babz Balls from Wetsounds for tieing up to other boats. I had Exile balls in the past and they are too small.

Exile or Babz balls will be different shapes with different amounts of air in them.

I keep a small 12v airpump onboard for the balls.

IMG_1424.JPGIMG_1425.JPG

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25 minutes ago, hethj7 said:

The balls my buddy got are different sizes, unrelated to the amount of air in them.  Poor manufacturing tolerances I would say.  

The ones i received are also different sizes

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I have the Mission Sentry and the Taylor models.  The Taylor are good. The Mission are very cool in design, and very easy to hang on anything—I mount them on cleats and docks quickly. As mentioned they will slip when stressed. Thus you can leave your boat for hours. Also, you need to keep the mounting strap fairly tight, or they will turn/roll, which kinda negates the fun design.  

 

In short, the Mission are awesome at quick and relatively short mooring needs. But not for longer term needs. 

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4 hours ago, srintx said:

Any reports on the Mission Fenders?

I've got a set and I love them.  They work great for attaching to dock posts  as well as running the, over your cleats with the ropes running through them.  They don't flip up like the standard sausage tubes or hippity hop style bumpers.

 

Note - we don't ever tie up to other boats

Edited by oldjeep
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I like that last picture that @Ronnie posted. I have held off putting fender pros on because,

1.The metal clip banging on the gel.

2. I use the tail to tie off and didnt want to pull on the fender pros.

After this pic I will be buying longer fender lines so I can install the fender pro, then hit the cleat and then the dock with the tail. I will probably tie a loop that will slip over the cleat.

Ronnie what is that piece between your fender pro and fender?

 

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I recently asked this same question when I got my new boat.

 

Docking: I ended up buying the Mission Fenders and they are AWESOME!! When I tie up at the lake front bar, they easily attach to either the boat, or the posts on the dock. Very versatile and worth the money. No issues on my end so far.

Other boats: When I tie up to other boats, I use something similar to the BABz balls, I just bought 2 of those kid hopper balls with the handle, in blue, at walmart, for around $8 a piece. Keep them under inflated, they are rated for 140lbs+ and work great and separating boats on tie ups. 

Shallow water: I bought the orange dog anchor/ground screws from fleet farm and screw those into the sand, and then use the airhead bungee front and rear to hold the boat in place, works GREAT at sandbars and those screws stay in all day even with constant waves coming in as the airheads allow some movement. 

Hope that helps and good luck!

 

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1 hour ago, MalibuRyan said:

When I tie up at the lake front bar, they easily attach to either the boat, or the posts on the dock.

I always attach to the boat. I want the bumpers to move with the boat. That way the dock gets the rash when the boat bumpers move. If the bumpers are on the dock, the boat gets the  rash rubbing against the dock bumpers. And of course nothing is fail proof.

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Those amazon adjusters are nice,  someone in here recommended some Academy Sports stocked fender adjusters with mesh straps and easy adjust clip lengths , $2.99 maybe less,  not near as neat as Ronnie’s but you can loop them through any opening like the Axis tower base holes , so you can position your balls/fenders  anywhere additional to the cleats or fender pro locations  

Academy always had them 

i don’t tie up much but use BABz, looped the tie up rope under the babz I fit over the cleats , but you need options and the Academy straps give you those cheaply  

Edited by granddaddy55
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