DIY hard dinghy stabilizer

[sailorcherry]

Have you or someone you know been successful with adding fenders along the gunwales of your hard dink?
I am not interested in spending $400+ on dinghy dogs, no way, sorry.
I have only seen pics online of the fender technique but yet to see one at the dock or out cruising to ask how much it helps. It is my next project, that or loose a bunch weight I guess

[RaymondR]

I use 2" black poly irrigation pipe. The stuff on the dingy has been there for in excess of 10 years and I found it in a rubbish dump, I have been given offcuts by an agricultural irrigation supplier for a couple of short pieces I needed to replace those knocked off the bow.


To fasten it I Drill through the pipe and into the coaming of the dingy with a drill sized for a large, closed alloy blind rivet then use a hole saw to open out the outer hole to allow the pulling tool into the inside of the poly pipe.


I first used SS washers on the blind rivets to spread the load on the poly so that it would not pull over the fairly small rivet head but found that the rivets would then corrode as they are anodic to the SS in the washer. I now cut washers from alloy tube by splitting cutting off a short section, about 1" or 30mm then splitting it long ways into 3 pieces. I put a rivet about every 1' or 30cm along the poly pips.


The black poly appears to be fairly hard however I have a steel boat and have found that even when the dingy is beating against the painted steel hull it does not damage the paint work.


I'd estimate the cost for my dingy as about that of a hand full of large closed alloy rivets since I got the poly pipe for nothing.

[sailorcherry]

Thanks for the reply and with such detail!
Have any photos you can share by chance?

I am trying to add stability, like the dinghy dogs or west marine inflatable collar. I can envision yours making a nice rubrail and all but does it offer stability or flotation?

[Snowpetrel]

A mate of mine put some saddles on the hull and lashed large long fenders onto the eyes tightly. They could be removed to be used as fenders or left lashed on as bouyancy.

They could also be removed at the beach to work as rollers. Two per side did it nicely if I remember correctly. They were well above the waterline so they didnt drag in flat water.

[tikirawker]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

I use 2" black poly irrigation pipe. The stuff on the dingy has been there for in excess of 10 years and I found it in a rubbish dump, I have been given offcuts by an agricultural irrigation supplier for a couple of short pieces I needed to replace those knocked off the bow.


To fasten it I Drill through the pipe and into the coaming of the dingy with a drill sized for a large, closed alloy blind rivet then use a hole saw to open out the outer hole to allow the pulling tool into the inside of the poly pipe.


I first used SS washers on the blind rivets to spread the load on the poly so that it would not pull over the fairly small rivet head but found that the rivets would then corrode as they are anodic to the SS in the washer. I now cut washers from alloy tube by splitting cutting off a short section, about 1" or 30mm then splitting it long ways into 3 pieces. I put a rivet about every 1' or 30cm along the poly pips.


The black poly appears to be fairly hard however I have a steel boat and have found that even when the dingy is beating against the painted steel hull it does not damage the paint work.


I'd estimate the cost for my dingy as about that of a hand full of large closed alloy rivets since I got the poly pipe for nothing.

Yes photos please.

[foufou]

What about using foam swim noodles? Lashed on with black zip ties. Small hole through gunwale for zip ties. At 4' long two per side would do it. Or 4 per side for more buoyancy

[coastalexplorer]

IMO...there is absolutely no substitute for a properly engineered inflatable tube when it comes to safety. Accidents happen at sea: So why be cheap? When you are out in the middle coming up for the third time out there. All the money you thought you saved will not help you!

[Aqualibrium]

I did a quick cheap job using noodles but they have UV degraded very quickly, just about useless in less than 2 yrs. Would probably be better if sewn into a sausage with a UV resistant cover, to give good fendering they are too high for good stability assistance.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Aqualibrium

I did a quick cheap job using noodles but they have UV degraded very quickly, just about useless in less than 2 yrs. Would probably be better if sewn into a sausage with a UV resistant cover, to give good fendering they are too high for good stability assistance.

They make much more durable closed-cell "noodles" for race car cages that, while much more expensive, will last much longer.

[CapnBazza]

Originally Posted by sailorcherry

Have you or someone you know been successful with adding fenders along the gunwales of your hard dink?
I am not interested in spending $400+ on dinghy dogs, no way, sorry.
I have only seen pics online of the fender technique but yet to see one at the dock or out cruising to ask how much it helps. It is my next project, that or loose a bunch weight I guess

This is what I did to my small double-hulled tender. A major problem with the boat was the lack of floatation in the bow and stern and these dock fenders have helped a bit.

[RaymondR]

Poly Pipe Dingy Fender.

[TurninTurtle]

Since part of the goal is flotation and part seems to be dock bumpers...

How about the poly pipe with pool noodle inserted? Pipe protects the noodle from UV and gives secure mounting... Noodle provides flotation (obviously not provided by the poly pipe above with all those holes)

The foam used in pool noodle degrades in about 6 months around here if left outside. I've been using it (and replacing regularly) to pad steel tubes.

[Snowpetrel]

I have used pool noodles inside some old firehose for years. They last very well. Not much flotation in a single run of pool noodles, but in a flooding situation it would be useful. My firehose wasnt big enough for a full pool noodle but fitted a split noodle easily enough. It was cable tied to the gunwale through holes.

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[UNCIVILIZED]

If you want to see/test out, firsthand, how much various size fenders or collars would add, then take a few swimming with you, & see if you like the results when you try & depress them.
And, of course, you can simply calculate how much bouyancy you'll get for fender size X. As the math is that for the volume of a cylinder.


Another option might be, to find some inexpensive foam which doesn't absorb water. Be it solid foam, the pour type, or some of both. And then sew your own collars/covers. With or without an opening flap with double velcro closures, much like the cuff on a surfboard leash. So that installing the foam inside of the collar is a no brainer.

Just use some good UV resistant thread, & a DIY grommet kit. Or use stitch on webbing loops, etc., to use to attach the collar to your dinghy with.
Also, were it me, I'd paint the inside of the collar everywhere which wouldn't get sewn. So as to provide the foam with more UV protection.

Plus, it's an educated guess, but if you went this route, & used some recycled materials for the project, then this might be a cheaper than fenders. For example, were you used an old sail that's lost it's shape, but has lots of life let in the cloth for the collar portion, etc.
And you could use anything cheap, that's both bouyant & long term water tight, inside of the collars for added bouyancy.


I'll be curious to hear about the results though. As doing this to a dinghy has run through my mind more than a few times.

[Snowpetrel]

http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.p...sailrow-dinghy

Very nice the way he uses bouyancy bags for extra stability on this neat dinghy.

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