Gunnel / Gunwale Guard for hard dinghy

[Oldwheels]

Looking for gunnel guard ideals for an AL hard 12 ft dinghy. I have seen the "Taylor gunnel guard and close. A bit pricey when I need about 26 ft.
Dinghy is an old Al V hull 11 1/2 ft. Need to protect the mother ship.

[Fintry]

Hamilton Marine sells gunnel guard in polyester in several varieties. Although cotton is traditional, polyester has the advantage that you can drill neat holes for screws with a soldering iron.


Jim

[JBP]

Fire hose is popular. Fire stations frequently have to replace their worn hose so you might get it cheap or free.

[Benz]

Along with the above, fire hose with foam pipe insulation inside them has worked for me in the past. Not as good as proper gunnel guard, since the pipe insualtion is not really sturdy (more like a thin pool noodle than the dense foam-rubber insides of gunnel guard), but it's a decent temporary expedient.

[deblen]

Poly pipe is cheap & won't mark gelcoat.
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Plumbing...-5yc1vZ1z18i3s

[Franziska]

Large diameter garden hose works well. Very abrasion & UV resistant.
We got ours cheap from a company reselling goods with a little damage (wasn't in the part we used.) We put a plastic strip inside before screwing it down.

[stainless guy]

Tessilmare out of italy makes a couple easy to install gunwhale bumper options

they have a few resellers in north america

[pbiJim]

The rub rail that gets used on docks can work, but it's expensive. A series of small diameter fenders bolted to the boat with carriage bolts can work & adds reserve buoyancy which makes the boat more stable. Braided Vinyl "soda hose" from Home Depot, Ace Hardware or Lowes, can be screwed to the side of the dinghy & works fairly well. 1" diameter is not so obtrusive, the way that fenders can be. When screwing it to the boat, put a large hole, that the screw head can pass through, then a small hole opposite it. That way the screw head stays inside.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...C007/303125000

[Jammer]

I have tried a number of things but have not cracked the code.


Multiple small fenders... work OK but the gaps have to be kept small


Bespoke EPDM rubber guard from the PT-11... not durable


My next attempt will likely be 1" manila rope.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Oldwheels

Looking for gunnel guard ideals for an AL hard 12 ft dinghy. I have seen the "Taylor gunnel guard and close. A bit pricey when I need about 26 ft.
Dinghy is an old Al V hull 11 1/2 ft. Need to protect the mother ship.

Find a piece of "retired" 4 inch fire hose, install pool noodles inside it and screw/pop rivet it to the top of the gunnel, allows it to be flipped up out of the way if necessary while providing good protection to the mothership.