No RUB Rails??

[Jeannius]

Originally Posted by slug

In Some regions like the east coast of the US boats tie up between poles

Very difficult to fend off

Rub railS are useful

Then you use Fender Boards like these...

[slug]

Originally Posted by Jeannius

Then you use Fender Boards like these...

You can’t use a board when maneuvering . The board will hang up on the pole and tear your lifelines off

The device pictured is a poor fender board imitation

The control lines don’t pass thru the face of the board with a bowline
, a stone wall will instantly chafe thru the lines or the lines will break the grain of the board

Control lines on a board pass thru the board from top edge to bottom edge and are dead ended with a stopper knot

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

What do rub rails protect you against when you have a line of fenders down the sides?

Curious as my rubber rubrail was torn off beating windward almost 3 years ago now, and I've not replaced it. When docked, or docking no part of the boat should ever touch anything hard. A rubrail sticks out maybe 2cm if your lucky, fenders stick out over 20cm

2 cm? Mine are 3.5 inches wide X 2.5” tall with solid SS 1” wide cap strips. They are 18 inches below the toe rail and make a great step-up from the dingy. I totally agree you never touch anything hard without leaving lasting memories on your hull.

[thinwater]

It depend a great deal on the dock. Obviously, you won't find a work boat without substantial rub rails. That is, in large part, because they value function over style, but also because they are not using floating docks. They are coming along side pilings, frequently, in all weather.



Fenders are next to useless gliding alongside pilings. They are pushed aside and some times snag at the worst possible moment. Yes, fender boards are nice, I've used them many times, but not perfect.



Yes, I could say "I never touch any thing." I've been sailing a very long time, but if you single hand and dock in strong cross winds you will touch something eventually, unless your slip is very large and you are very lucky. If you have rub rails it's a non-problem. Yes, I understand about spring lines. It's not always that simple, particularly coming into an unfamiliar slip. With a cat, for example, think about how far the rail may be from a helm location on the other side. It may not be a straight line either, with obstructions you must go around.



I had a boat for 10 years with no rub rail. I got by just fine. And it was stupid. Rub rails are better. As for rub rails that easily fall off or are easily damaged... they are not rub rails at all. They are imitation rub rails.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by Jeannius

Then you use Fender Boards like these...

I'd call that a fender plank, not a board. A good wind and the piling would crack it in half. Or movement fore and aft, and the fenders you have against the hull would roll out. You are better off turning a fender on it's side, than that lightweight setup.

Both of our Seawind cats had metal rub rail covering the hull-to-deck joint. Current Seawind is laid up as one-piece deck, and one-piece hull, so it makes perfect sense to have rail there. At my home dock, we are on a Tide Slide system and have rubber rub rails on the pilings. We don't have to mess with fenders. At marina's with pilings, it is nice to be able to lay alongside and then space fenders - or a real fender board - where they need to be. Coming alongside a dock with fenders hanging over the side never works to fend off the boat. Cats without rub rails may look nice, but its not practical. Unless you only plan to tie up at marinas with floating docks!

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by slug

You can’t use a board when maneuvering . The board will hang up on the pole and tear your lifelines off

The device pictured is a poor fender board imitation

The control lines don’t pass thru the face of the board with a bowline
, a stone wall will instantly chafe thru the lines or the lines will break the grain of the board

Control lines on a board pass thru the board from top edge to bottom edge and are dead ended with a stopper knot

Totally agree. The board shown will be instant toothpicks. Ours are 1-1/2 inch thick X 6 inch wide tropical hardwood. There are two 3/4 inch diameter SS solid bars let into the wearing surface and a PVC pad integral with the line and the board At each end. The line on each end goes through the big PVC pad and the board edge-to-edge. They are heavy. They must also be old “Vintage” since I can’t find a picture on line.

This is the closest I can find. The PVC end pads are like mine but our bumpers fit 6 inch wide.

[a64pilot]

I have heard of but not used myself heavy PVC pipe as fender boards, I can see where PVC would be good because it’s slippery, and easier to store on stanchions.
I used to have 2x6 fender boards but took them off a few years ago as I rarely used them.

Any feedback on PVC pipe fender boards?

My rub rails are solid SS. I had rubber ones on a center console that had a rope in the rubber, for that small of a boat they were nice, but a heavier boat will just rip the rubber off. Wooden pilings aren’t so bad, it’s the concrete ones that will play hell on a rub rail or hull

[Sailmonkey]

Any time I come into a strange berth with piles, I lay the boat on the piles to sort lines. Can’t imagine doing this without rub rails.

Ours a huge (considering a 32’ boat), thick aluminum, and wear all sorts of scars.

Just the other day we entered a slip in Venice Fl with a 2 knot current across the current. I just faced the current and eased the boat over to the pile, laid against it, then rotated around it. You can’t use fenders for do that!

[sailingharry]

Our new-to-us boat is a Saga 43. An offshore cruising boat for a couple. Well designed for that purpose, too. But the "rub rail" is that stupid metal cover for the hull/deck joint, mentioned previosly, with a little rubber strip inserted.


This spring, we installed proper rubrails. A plastic trapezoid, about 2.5" x 1.5", topped by a 1" wide stainless half round. About $1200 delivered from Integrity Marine. Took me 3 days with a 3-man team to install. The top 8" or so of the hull is solid glass, no core, and so I thru-bolted in this region. I wish it were a bit thicker (maybe a 3.5" x 2.5" shape?) but I love the fact that it isn't wood, and the stainless is the first thing to hit against a piling. And unlike the rubber, the stainless slides along nicely without tearing or deforming.


Should be on all cruising boats!

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Totally agree. The board shown will be instant toothpicks. Ours are 1-1/2 inch thick X 6 inch wide tropical hardwood. There are two 3/4 inch diameter SS solid bars let into the wearing surface and a PVC pad integral with the line and the board At each end. The line on each end goes through the big PVC pad and the board edge-to-edge. They are heavy. They must also be old “Vintage” since I can’t find a picture on line.

This is the closest I can find. The PVC end pads are like mine but our bumpers fit 6 inch wide.

Wow. First pictures I've seen of these amazing products. My father made a pair of these in 1976 for our first trip to Nova Scotia, and I now have them. The rubber has hardened over the years, and I'd love to replace the rubber part, but that's not really an option it seems. These pictures focus on the rubber part, but there are two stainless strips on the outside face that you can't see. They are 2x6, about 4 feet long.

[Saleen411]

[QUOTE=a64pilot;3194702]I have heard of but not used myself heavy PVC pipe as fender boards, I can see where PVC would be good because it’s slippery, and easier to store on stanchions.
I used to have 2x6 fender boards but took them off a few years ago as I rarely used them.

Any feedback on PVC pipe fender boards?
/QUOTE]

I think heavy PVC pipes for fender boards rock.....

Strong, Durable, Slippery and a helluva lot lighter than a heavy board.

[mvweebles]

I don't understand why rubrails have become so fragile.

Here's a 3"h x 2-1/2" deep rubrail that's easy to attach and easy to replace.

Docking is often a contact sport. Piles are your friend if you're well protected.

https://www.tessilmare.com/en/bino-621.html

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

I don't understand why rubrails have become so fragile.

Here's a 3"h x 2-1/2" deep rubrail that's easy to attach and easy to replace.

Docking is often a contact sport. Piles are your friend if you're well protected.

https://www.tessilmare.com/en/bino-621.html

I looked at them for my rubrail project. I had two problems.
1) I wanted a stainless wear strip, and couldn't figure out how to install one.
2) This product, like many others, does not allow for a nice end. You simply cut it off and bolt a cap over the end. Not pretty.


It looks like an excellent product for commercial craft, and the lady in the video pretty much affirms that thought.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

We don’t have hull/deck joints, yet we have aluminum rub rails. The rub rails are all scratched up, and don’t look very good. A friend told me I should take them off to make the boat look better. I asked him what he thought the boat would like without the rub rails, and all those scratches on the hulls!

Exactly. Mine still look good and are very robust but without them, I'd be pretty marked up in spots. They also keep the fenders from pushing up.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I have heard of but not used myself heavy PVC pipe as fender boards, I can see where PVC would be good because it’s slippery, and easier to store on stanchions.
I used to have 2x6 fender boards but took them off a few years ago as I rarely used them.

Any feedback on PVC pipe fender boards?

We have PVC fender "boards". I think they are 3-1/2 or 4 inch diameter. Much like the picture shown earlier, except we use smaller-diameter fenders, and there is a harness in place to keep the fenders from rolling out from behind the PVC pipe. They are light weight, and easy to carry two while cruising. Not as convenient to fillet fish on, as the traditional fender board! Cheap to make. And sturdy.