Airplane tire fenders - OK to bolt on?

[tomlarkin]

I'm building a 25' tug-style boat and want to mount small airplane tires as fenders. Instead of hanging them like normal fenders I'm thinking of bolting them through the hull, towards the tops of the tires.

This gives me a few advantages:

they won't swing and scuff the topsides
being solid, they will act as good steps and handholds when getting out of a dinghy
no additional hardware, lines, and cleats to install and maintain
they won't lift or slide out of the way when the boat works against the dockAny warnings or concerns? Thanks!

[py]

Sounds like a plan. Use big washers or some sort of backing. Don't know if the possibility of the bolt heads punching through the outer bit might be a problem? Probly not.

[dredbob]

The only problem I see with bolting the tire fenders in place is that you will then be unable to heed to proper nautical protocol, which is, whitewalls in towards the hull, except on Sundays and National Holidays, when they should be turned so that the whitewalls are on display.

Bob

[S/V Laura Ellen]

If you snag them on a piling, they won't give very much and (I imagine) will put a great of strain on the fastener and the surrounding wood.

[SamSam]

As S/VLE says, they will transfer a lot of the stresses they are supposed to absorb, to the hull. They won't be adjustable to different dock heights or situations. Bolted or loose, tires may mark up any boats or docks you come up against. Do airplanes have whitewalls?

[Quidam]

I used tires for fenders on my motorsailer ( a 1921 double-ended gaff ketch built by Lawley). A few years ago as I was transiting the Trent- Severn waterway in Ontario, the Lock authorities politely informed me that I could not use anything for a fender that wouldn't foat. My solution was to use a sray can of expanding foam inside the tires. My current project will also have tires for fenders but I dont like the idea of bolting them to the hull. I some situations it is necessary to raise or lower a fender and you would loose that option.

[tomlarkin]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I think I'll bolt them to a board and hang the board. That allows me to hang them with just two lines but allows up-and-down adjustment. If I fill them with foam maybe I can use the thing as a life raft! :D

By the way, I remember some discussion on this forum about the baggywrinkle on Devlin's Godzilli. I took some pictures when I was there a few months ago.

Here's the front:
http://groups.msn.com/WoodenBoatBuilder/devlinsgodzilli16.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1089

This is the back side:
http://groups.msn.com/WoodenBoatBuilder/devlinsgodzilli16.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1088

http://boatbuild.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/dscn2059.jpg