Rope Dinghy Guards

[Roger Long]

What is the normal method of attaching large diameter line to the rail of a dinghy for a guard? Is the line just worked open and the screw heads put through one strand and buried?

[Peerie Maa]

Are you fitting a wood strip with a hollow to locate the rope? Some drill pairs of holes through which light line is used to lash one strand of the rope into place, The other two strands hide the lashing.

[Ian McColgin]

Or if a slight overhang to the gunnel, then at least a strip to help hold the rope up. Yes, the common way is to bury a flathead screw in the strand nearest the hull ever 3" to 6". I personally do not like rope as a gunnel guard, not compared to the closed cell foam covered with cloth that's as good as fire hose. By comparison it's an investment but the stuff on my hard dink is about 10 years old, looks appropriatly weathered, and does not scratch the hulls of other boats or make noisy bumps at night the way rope does. I've been happiest with 3/4 round since it goes up above the gunnel a little.

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/253409_1776356043805_1086461839_31561772_5887770_n .jpg

[snow(Alan H)]

Here you go. Not very 'classic' but as an alternative to screws in the rope I have seen clear cable ties used.

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp165/Alanh22/Alanh22A/GunwhaleGuard1.png;

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp165/Alanh22/Alanh22A/GunwhaleGuardfitting.png;

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp165/Alanh22/Alanh22A/DinghyGunnelguard.png

[htom]

That's the least fussy way, Roger. I've seen others, all of which were much more work and didn't seem to work as well. The best of them was gluing a strip (maybe 1/2"x1/8") along the hull with 1/16" spacers, and using line through the gaps and around the inner third of the rope. Failed because the strip broke. All of these schemes were attempts to avoid drilling into the hull, by the way.

You might epoxy a strip along the hull, then apply epoxy to the strip, and just press the rope into it. No guarantees.

[David G]

In general, I agree with Ian about the gunwale guards. But it's partly a question of your aesthetic taste. The rope can certainly look cool. I've seen the screw-on method used. I've also seen it lashed on with a lighter strand of tarred worming. I thought that might be fragile, but I've seen a few now that have lasted a long time, and it certainly looks salty. Your planking needs to be stout enough, and hard enough (fir instead of western red cedar, for instance) to not be overly compromised by the multiple pairs of lacing holes that need to be drilled in the top edge of the top strake.

I've also seen a couple set into goop (construction adhesive, like PL Premium) with mixed results.

[snow(Alan H)]

And more ideas

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp165/Alanh22/Alanh22A/DinghyFenderFixingTips.jpg

[Bob Cleek]

Or, if you have a cove of some type around the gunnel, simply take a suitable length of rope and spice an eye in each end. The rope is set in the cove with the two eyes coming together at the transom. A line is rove several times between the eyes and, with that as a purchase, the slack is taken up and the rope tightly bound. No holes need be drilled in the hull.

[ILikeRust]

I assume that 3/4-round gunnel guard is held on by screws every few inches through those "tabs"? Any other neat way to hold it on without lots of screws?

Looks like just the ticket for the pram dinghy I recently acquired.

[Ian McColgin]

So far as I know, screws are the way. My dink is a surprisingly seaworthy thing I bought a junk for $10 to temporarily fill the void when my good dink was stolen. It had nasty aluminum gunnels, was a puce green, and was flimsey. A new wood transom, wood gunnels and seat riser (used to stiffen the hull, not for seats) and some floatation made it a good boat. A "side board" (were she a sailing dink, one leeboard) keeps her from skittering when rowing against or across a high wind. Anyway, back to attaching the gunnel guard: In wood regular flat head scews with those nicely shaped washers. In glass or aluminum, use self-taping screws, nip off the points going through, and add a dab of epoxy putty. I put them every 4". It won't look right if you try to space the screws more than 6" apart.

You can hide either the upper or the lower screw line by flapping the guard up or down, turning the screw flap and attaching, then turning the guard the right way. With 3/4 round folding on the top makes it clunky around the rim and the job looks neater if it's the lower screws that are hidden, if any. But if you use 1/2 round, then folding for the upper screws brings the whole guard up to the level of the gunnel top for a more useful job. It's a judgement call.

G'luck

[snow(Alan H)]

Screws / washers like this

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp165/Alanh22/Alanh22A/GunwhaleGuardscrews.png

[Ian McColgin]

Thank you Alan. Your posts so wonderfully clarify what I was trying to say.

[JimConlin]

I assume that 3/4-round gunnel guard is held on by screws every few inches through those "tabs"? Any other neat way to hold it on without lots of screws?

Looks like just the ticket for the pram dinghy I recently acquired.

I've seen it installed with staples or tacks, but I've had better luck with screws and cup washers every 4" or so. You can turn the upper flap inward so the screws are hidden.

'Gunwale guard' comes in two constructions. I prefer the type that's a firm foam rubber bonded to a dacron canvas. It holds up better and is less bulky than the style that's a polyester sleeve with a piece of PE foam in it.

[wizbang 13]

Eventually, I stopped putting anything on the dingy rail, not even paint. It sounds like an "un neighborly" dingy, but a softwood rail, glued with no fastenings and rounded, has been the best for me. My dingy(s) gets hauled aboard and launched ,( a lot), and that process took a toll on every treatment I ever tried.

[jalmberg]

If you do use rope, someone told me once to use a soft cotton rope, which won't scratch paint like some ropes will.

[Thad]

All the roped gunnels I have known have a coved rub with the rope marline or twine fastened through small holes drilled in the rub, top and bottom or through to the inside. Lawley, Herreshoff, etc.

[Bluegill]

Or if a slight overhang to the gunnel, then at least a strip to help hold the rope up. Yes, the common way is to bury a flathead screw in the strand nearest the hull ever 3" to 6". I personally do not like rope as a gunnel guard, not compared to the closed cell foam covered with cloth that's as good as fire hose. By comparison it's an investment but the stuff on my hard dink is about 10 years old, looks appropriatly weathered, and does not scratch the hulls of other boats or make noisy bumps at night the way rope does. I've been happiest with 3/4 round since it goes up above the gunnel a little. http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/253409_1776356043805_1086461839_31561772_5887770_n .jpg
Is that an amphyibious boat ??? I see it has wheels.

[Bob Smalser]

What is the normal method of attaching large diameter line to the rail of a dinghy for a guard? Is the line just worked open and the screw heads put through one strand and buried?

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/9745605/282785146.jpg

First you need to make a guard with a v-groove or cove to bed the rope to.

Then the time-tested method is to drill holes and lash the bumper rope to the guard as described in Post #2.

You can also use thin, #6 stainless Phillips-head screws, which can be buried in the rope using a power driver. The problem is they can back out and damage adjacent boats and tend to shorten the life of the guard, as they are impossible to properly bed.

As the above working punt is now 12 years old and has lived a hard life supporting swamp-logging operations, I'll be replacing both guards and rope shortly, and will post pics.

[Dale Genther]

I'm getting ready to start building an 8 ft. pram type dingy as a tender to my larger boat. At anchor it will be tied of to the stern of the large boat but normally it will be carried upside down on the cabin roof. Im looking for a genwale guard for the dingy to go all the way around the parimeter, about 22 ft.of it. The canvas looking Taylor gunwale guard that Ian uses, sold by Hamilton Marine, is the ideal thing as it can protect both the side of the dingly. Plus, since it extends a little over the top of the dingy's rub rail it will protect the finish of the larger boat's cabin top as it is slide onto the cabin top for storage. The problem is the price. At $8.00 per ft. the cost of the guard is about as much as the cost of the whole boat. Which I thouk is too much. Has anyone tried making this type of canvas/polyester guard themselves. Or any other ideas similiar to it?

[Peerie Maa]

I'm getting ready to start building an 8 ft. pram type dingy as a tender to my larger boat. At anchor it will be tied of to the stern of the large boat but normally it will be carried upside down on the cabin roof. Im looking for a genwale guard for the dingy to go all the way around the parimeter, about 22 ft.of it. The canvas looking Taylor gunwale guard that Ian uses, sold by Hamilton Marine, is the ideal thing as it can protect both the side of the dingly. Plus, since it extends a little over the top of the dingy's rub rail it will protect the finish of the larger boat's cabin top as it is slide onto the cabin top for storage. The problem is the price. At $8.00 per ft. the cost of the guard is about as much as the cost of the whole boat. Which I thouk is too much. Has anyone tried making this type of canvas/polyester guard themselves. Or any other ideas similiar to it?
If you mean this
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp165/Alanh22/Alanh22A/GunwhaleGuard1.png
you could use old fire hose scrounged from your fire service, with a length of old braided rope run through it and stitched to make the two fixing flanges. The only down side is you get no choice of colour.

[rbgarr]

What did you end up doing Roger? I presume you put some kind of guard on your Pilot dinghy?

[Oldad]

I put a coved strip on the gunnel right at the top edge (epoxied it on) and laid one inch dia. nylon three strand in 5200. I brought the rope around the transom and mad a neat spiral all set in 5200. One continuous piece from one corner of the tranny to the other, held up for years, finally sold it, worked a wonder as far as being no scratch, no foul. Love the stuff from Hamilton and JD but this was pretty slaty looking and not expensive. A little masking tape held the spirals in place til it set.

[Bill Perkins]

Roger you might be interested in a booklet by Leonard Popple called Advanced Ropeworking ; available used through Amazon .He worked some of his career in the naval dockyards of England .

He has very clear ideas about fitting a boat with a rope fender . First ; a coved wooden rub strip with pairs of lashing holes as mentioned by others . He was writing in the 50's and knew about screws of course ,just thought lashings were superior . One advantage he notes is that after significant wear occurs the whole fender can be rotated 180 degrees about it's axis and relashed .

An "attenuated pudding " for the bow is applied to the rope before installation. He gives a short explanation of this . The detail at the transom was a pair of point and becket terminations laced to a centered metal fitting . Producing these he covers in great detail .

Mr. Popple also includes interesting instructions for producing stand alone bow fenders with armatures of light chain for fastening them in place .

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2d737b3127ccef174ac7066ee00000030O00BcOGbFq3bsQ e3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[ Oh ;an old thread]