Picking the Right Fenders for Your Boat

Author: Boat Accessories Australia Date Posted: 8 January 2016

Picking the Right Fenders for Your Boat

What are Fenders?

Fenders act as a cushion between a boat and a dock (concrete, metal or wood) or another boat and prevent damage to your boat’s topsides.

Using either an inflated bladder (usually rotationally-moulded vinyl) or soft foam, fenders absorb the shock of vessel movement so neither the vessel nor what it bumps against are damaged.

Round Fender Buoys

As the name implies, this fender is round. The ball-shaped bumper is made from hollow, pressurised plastic vinyl and features a single attachment point for line. Ball fenders can be difficult to store because of their shape and size, but most have valves allowing users to inflate or deflate the ball to their specific needs.


Tab End Fenders		Contour Fenders

Featuring durable plastic attachment points at both ends, these inflatable fenders can provide a buffer between pilings and other boats or docks. Hanging them horizontally can help protect your boat from vertical dock pilings, while vertical deployment can protect the hull from shifting tides or other moored boats.		Made of either inflatable vinyl or closed-cell foam covered with a durable trilaminate skin, contour fenders are ideal for boats with low freeboard or step-down curved or slanted gunwales. Because they follow the contour of the gunwale, they offer additional protection in case the boat gets trapped under the dock.


Hollow Body		Dock Bumpers

Moulded from durable PVC vinyl, these fenders incorporate an internal rope tube to allow the fender line to run through it. These can be deployed horizontally or vertically, with several ganged along a line to broaden protection. Moulded ribs add durability and allow it to roll rather than slide out of position.		A great option if you moor your boat on your own dock, dock bumpers, or vinyl edging, are permanently attached to the dock, providing protection from rough edges. Or fender boards can be suspended from the boat to press against pilings while fenders protect the hull.

Fender Recommendation Chart

Depending on the size of boat you own, a certain number and sizes of different fenders are required for use in slips and docking. Here’s a quick guide to finding the right parts for your boat. Of course, different fender types can be helpful for certain parts of the boat so be sure to read up on any other fenders that may be useful to your situation.

Boat Length	Cylindrical Fender Diameter	Round Fender Diameter	Flat Fender Size
Under 10’	3”	NR	Small
10’-15’	3” – 4”	9”	Small
15’-20’	5” – 5.5”	12”	Small
20’-25’	6” – 6.5”	15”	Medium
25’-35’	8” – 8.5”	18”	Medium
35’-50’	10.5” -12”	21”	Large
50’-60’	12”	27”	Large
60’-72’	15” – 24”	27”	Large

For more information, check out our whole range of different Fenders and Buoys to find the right piece of equipment for your boat.

Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern Boat Accessories Australia’s relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, please do not use our website.

The term ‘Boat Accessories Australia’ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner of the website whose registered office is . Our ABN is 70 144 721 586. The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website.

The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:

The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.
Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.
All trademarks reproduced in this website, which are not the property of, or licensed to the operator, are acknowledged on the website.
Unauthorised use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offence.
From time to time, this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).
Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of Australia.

Boat Accessories Australia is dedicated to keeping your details private. Any information we collect in relation to you is kept strictly secured. We do not pass on or sell any of your personal details. We only use this information to identify and process your orders, provide you with our email newsletter (if subscribed) and to personalise your shopping experience with us.

This Privacy Policy sets out:

matters of which you should be aware regarding information we may collect about you
our policies on the management of personal information, and
generally, what sort of information we hold, for what purposes, and how we collect, hold, use and disclose that information

What personal information do we collect and store?

So that we can provide services to you, we may ask for personal details such as your name, address, telephone number or e-mail address. Some examples of where we may need these details are product orders, competitions and when you opt-in to receiving email newsletters from us.

Privacy law requires us to collect personal information about you only from you if it is reasonable and practical to do so.

Boat Accessories Australia takes measures to ensure your personal information is protected from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, disclosure or alteration.

Generally, you have no obligation to provide any information requested by us. If you choose to withhold requested information however, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services that depend on the collection of that information, particularly if the collection of that information is required by law.

How is personal information used?

The personal information that we ask for is generally used to provide goods or services to you. For example, for a debit/credit card transaction we need your card number, and for a competition we need your contact details so we can contact you if you win.

We may also use your personal information in other ways to provide you with superior service. This may include using your personal information to advise you of new products and services. You have the right to tell us that you do not want us to send information to you other than for the main purpose for which we have collected your personal details.

Newsletter

We offer a regular email newsletter which contains new and on-sale products as well as the latest boating news & advice. You may cancel your email subscription by following the simple instructions at the bottom of each newsletter.

Boat Accessories Australia uses cookies to allow you to login to your account, maintain a shopping cart and to purchase items in your shopping cart. Some cookies sent to your computer from Boat Accessories Australia only last while you’re browsing our website, but several are persistent (they remain in your web browser unless you clear them). Cookies also allow us to give you a more personalised shopping experience by displaying products that interest you throughout our product pages, thus providing you with a more friendly, interesting and enjoyable shopping experience.

Your IP address

Whenever you use our web site, or any other web site, the computer on which the web pages are stored (the Web server) needs to know the network address of your computer so that it can send the requested web pages to your Internet browser. The unique network address of your computer is called its "IP address," and is sent automatically each time you access any Internet site. From a computer's IP address, it is possible to determine the general geographic location of that computer, but otherwise it is anonymous.

We do keep a record of the IP addresses from which customers access our site in some cases, such as where you have specifically provided us with information about yourself, in which case we also record your IP address for security purposes. Another example of where we record your IP address would be when proceeding to a checkout to finalise an order. After placing the order, your IP address will be stored along with a transaction number that allows us to track your order.

More information

More information about Australian privacy laws and the National Privacy Principles is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at http://www.oaic.gov.au

My Cart

Picking the Right Fenders for Your Boat

Leave a comment