Best tender sheerstrake padding products?

[Thorne]

I'm looking for a padding product that attaches to the sheerstrake at the gunwale for my new CLC Eastport Pram, so it won't hurt the paint when alongside other boats. I still want to row and sail it, so nothing too intrusive. It will be used a lot in salt and brackish water, so it is better if it won't rot with salt-intrusion moisture, but I'd also like to avoid looking like a RubberMaid™ wash tub.

Suggestions? TIA

[cstevens]

Look for canvas gunwale guard. Available from various sources. Maybe a little lifeboat-chic but unless you are going to go full Hornblower and install manila rope guards I think they are the best looking option.

[cstevens]

^^^ mmd beat me to it. Yes, that's the stuff.

[JimConlin]

+1 for Taylor ‘Gunwale Guard’. Nothing else works as well.

A few tips in its application:
For a cleaner look, you might turn the inboard flap under the round part.
Fasten with screws and finish washers at 4” spacing. THey’re available in bronze if that’s the palette.
You can cut a flap when turning a corner. Use a hot knife.
To create a hollow beside rowlocks, cut some foam out of the interior.

[Thorne]

Thanks, folks! Looks like CLC has precut pieces for some of their small boats, which makes it pretty easy. And it is about the same as ordering it by the foot from the large online chandleries.

https://www.clcboats.com/modules/cat...l-gunnel-guard

[rbgarr]

The CLC stuff has a cylinder of foam in cross section, wrapped all the way around inside a dacron covering. The 'Jamestown version' has a different cross section which allows it to mount more snuggly on the outer upper edge of the gunwale. It depends on your gunwale and what you'll be coming alongside that deterrmines which would be best.

Thanks, folks! Looks like CLC has precut pieces for some of their small boats, which makes it pretty easy. And it is about the same as ordering it by the foot from the large online
chandleries.

https://www.clcboats.com/modules/cat...l-gunnel-guard

[Canoeyawl]

That canvas covered stuff is the best.
Hamilton's has it
https://shop.hamiltonmarine.com/prod...ard-44360.html

[StevenBauer]

Man, the price has gone up! It was $7.99/ft but it would go on sale in the Spring for $5.99. Now $9.75

[Howard Sharp]

When I priced it for my little tender it was going to cost more than all the materials I’d used to build the boat! So I made my own from 3/4” pipe insulation and some leftover Sunbrella (a Tom Jackson idea). It’s lasted a few years, and it cost about the same as two feet of the fancy stuff.
C256DC36-CEA6-4E2E-8365-7432E4316380.jpg

[Rumars]

The foam is usually a closed cell crosslinked PET. Same stuff as in fenders, buoys and better life jackets. A common brand is Evazote, they also make gymnastics mats out of it. So if someone is looking for a cheap DIY version of the canvas guard just stuff rolled gymnastics mats into firehose.

[Paul Schweiss]

Perimeter Industries has polyester gunwale guard, won’t rot like canvas.

Fisheries has it in Seattle

[MAGIC's Craig]

Paul beat me to it, Thorne. The Polyester wrapped material lasts considerably longer than the canvas wrapped version, which I suppose softens the cost catch.

[JimConlin]

The Taylor stuff that Hamilton Marine sells is Dacron. It's a fairly stuff rubber foam that's strongly bonded to the dacron canvas. I prefer it to the other product that's a dacron canvas sleeve with some plastic foam loose within it. The rubber stays stuck to the canvas.

[Canoeyawl]

I used the Hamilton stuff, it wasn't cheap but has been on our skiff for over 25 years now.

[Thorne]

I went with Hamilton's poly cover product at $7/ft and $13 shipping. Love doing business with Hamilton! Stunned to discover that they don't carry countersunk / cup washers, and neither does Duckworks, so I had to order those and the #6 3/4" screws (in stainless) from Amazon. McMaster Carr's prices were just too high...

[Ben Fuller]

If you put the 3/4 on properly you will hide the top fastenings by folding it over. Sometimes this becomes hard when you go around a corner. I have sometimes trimmed the padding a bit on the stern corners and at the stem. Now that poly is available use it, not the canvas which can retain water and rot the rub rail. Every few years it isn't a bad idea to take off the rubrail and repaint under it as needed.

If your tender lives on a dinghy dock gunwale guard is not enough. I have four fenders forward and aft of the center rowing seat tied at both ends so they can be flipped out and hang horizontally just below the sheer strake. These give me extra protection when I am coming alongside another boat. I also have a three side rope mat that goes over the gunwale guard which protects the stem from the float on the dinghy dock and probably should add a metal stem band down to the bow eye. I have thought about how to protect the corners of the planking aft on the sheerstraked and on the plank below it which can take a beating from unfendered low freeboard dinghies. Possibly some bronze or bamboo with small screws painted to match the hull.

[gilberj]

I found at a junk store about 50 ft of scrap 1" braided nylon rope....enough to do several dinghys. and bought it all for $2 (total). To attach, I drove pan-head screws through about every 6 inches. The screws are well set in so there is no chance the screw head will contact the boats I might be alongside. So far it has been in place for I think 5 years.
It is not as tidy a solution as those already mentioned, but the price to finish with the pretty stuff seemed more than I wanted to spend.

[rbgarr]

Any photos of all these methods, Ben?

If you put the 3/4 on properly you will hide the top fastenings by folding it over. Sometimes this becomes hard when you go around a corner. I have sometimes trimmed the padding a bit on the stern corners and at the stem. Now that poly is available use it, not the canvas which can retain water and rot the rub rail. Every few years it isn't a bad idea to take off the rubrail and repaint under it as needed.

If your tender lives on a dinghy dock gunwale guard is not enough. I have four fenders forward and aft of the center rowing seat tied at both ends so they can be flipped out and hang horizontally just below the sheer strake. These give me extra protection when I am coming alongside another boat. I also have a three side rope mat that goes over the gunwale guard which protects the stem from the float on the dinghy dock and probably should add a metal stem band down to the bow eye. I have thought about how to protect the corners of the planking aft on the sheerstraked and on the plank below it which can take a beating from unfendered low freeboard dinghies. Possibly some bronze or bamboo with small screws painted to match the hull.

[Thorne]

From what I can tell it must be attached to the rub rail on the sheerstrake, as the ply is too thin to hold a fastener other than bolts with washers. So the CLC diagram shows the 3/4 round attached alternately from top and bottom of that rail.



Here's the rail on my pram -

[Thad]

I like rope. I've used nylon and cotton. Lashed on with twine or light marline.

[Ben Fuller]

From what I can tell it must be attached to the rub rail on the sheerstrake, as the ply is too thin to hold a fastener other than bolts with washers. So the CLC diagram shows the 3/4 round attached alternately from top and bottom of that rail.



Here's the rail on my pram -

The CLC material shows the half round material, the material with one flat spot. I use the 3/4 round material which has some of the material on top of the rub rail. To fasten it you lay the material on the inside, fasten a flap down to the rubrail, then fold the material over the rub rail concealing the top flap and fastenings. Then you fasten the bottom flap into the rail. This assumes the rail is wide enough to take it. Looking at your photo is may not be. Photos of my set up don't do any good as all you see is a nice bit of covered material sticking up above the rubrail and a row of fastenings underneath going into the rail. The reason I like doing it this way is that depending on the flare of the vessel you are approaching it protects things if the tender gets underneath it and it is definitely good if you heel the tender towards the vessel. My dory skiff heels down easier than a flatter bottom tender so it is good to have protection on top. Biggest hassle with the on top material is getting it past any oarlock pads.

[pandelume]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but how did this turn out? Any pictures?

[Ben Fuller]

I'll see if I can get a pic of my gunwales once IMP comes out of the basement. The hassle with the 3/4 inch approach is that once you fold it over all you see is the bottom fastenings.

[Thorne]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but how did this turn out? Any pictures?

Do I have pictures????


I ended up getting the "new" style of Gunnel Guard™ from Hamilton (they sold out the old style), who had a MUCH better price on it than anyone else. I actually asked them over the phone to confirm the price, but they said it was under $10/ft for the 1.5" 3/4 round.
As you can see in the last photo, I had problems with the pilot hole drill bit snagging threads in the fabric cover and pulling the fabric into little low places. Other than heating up a nail and burning a hole, then drilling, then screwing it down, I'm not sure how to work around the issue.





As you can see I made a mess of the ends, but have ordered white PVC cap rail ends from Hamilton and those should cover a multitude of errors...





I even finally used some ring oarlocks that have been kicking around the shop for years, just removed the old and made new collars on the leathers on my extra 8' spoons.

[pandelume]

Thanks very much for the pictures - it looks like it turned out pretty well. Did you apply anything to seal the screw holes prior to seating the fabric?

I'm trying to figure out the best replacement for a rail on a 15ft catboat - this type of guarding seems better than a standard rubrail (mine didn't do much to protect my hull, anyhow), but I'm not sure it would look right on a boat that size. I also realize that this product is mostly intended to protect other boats from your rail, and my application is sort of the opposite. Still, it might do the trick without looking ridiculous. Has anyone seen this used on larger craft?

[Thorne]

Per the instruction video from CLC I applied a dab of sealant to each hole. I used the DAP Ultra Clear sealant that isn't silicone, but apparently doesn't have an industry name. Had to research the SDS to get the ingredients: Hydrogenated petroleum resin, Xylenes, Styrene-Ethylene/Butylene-Styrene BlockCopolymer. Not fond of products with so little info on the label, but from the reviews this one seems new and reasonably good for marine (and aquarium) use.



https://www.dap.com/dap-products-ph/...xible-sealant/

[Ben Fuller]

Do I have pictures????

I ended up getting the "new" style of Gunnel Guard™ from Hamilton (they sold out the old style), who had a MUCH better price on it than anyone else. I actually asked them over the phone to confirm the price, but they said it was under $10/ft for the 1.5" 3/4 round.
As you can see in the last photo, I had problems with the pilot hole drill bit snagging threads in the fabric cover and pulling the fabric into little low places. Other than heating up a nail and burning a hole, then drilling, then screwing it down, I'm not sure how to work around the issue.

Great photos. The way I put on guard is much harder. I rolled the guard towards the center in, screwed down the horizontal flap, then folded the guard over the fastenings. Gives a real neat job with all vertical fastenings covered by the guard but hard to fold in the corners and work around the oarlock pads. I like the bit of plastic for the ends. I used some leather which is getting grotty.

[DAVID HAMILTON]

Look for canvas gunwale guard. Available from various sources. Maybe a little lifeboat-chic but unless you are going to go full Hornblower and install manila rope guards I think they are the best looking option.

For those of us in the UK, what’s the best solution?

[Paul Schweiss]

For those of us in the UK, what’s the best solution?

Perimeter Industries is in Gardena, California. Telephone is 310/323-6636 They don’t seem to show a website or email.

Guessing they have a Distributor in the UK

[Fritz Koschmann]

[Thorne]

Fenders work well for other types of protection --- just sayin'

car-with-fenders.jpg

But I'm afraid that since my pram will also be sailed, having an irregular gunwale edge like that might result in....bad things happening.

[Bruce Brown]

IMG_1287.jpgrope, screwed into rail.

[Rick in Pender Harbour]

Rope,set in groove with PL premium. Stern end copper nails and leather cover.

[Bruce Morley]

I have had great success with Taylors gunnel guard. We remove the the guard about every 4 to 5 years and pop it in the washing machine to keep it clean. Had it on our dinghy for about 12 years.

Bruce

[Jay Greer]

I have used many types of gunnel guard over the years and found that the Taylors canvas covered foam is the best. I also should mention that the white vinyl style guard has a tendancy to become sticky as it ages and hold abrasive particals like sand and dirt plus just plain schmutz! It then has an anoying habit of damaging topsides from the sand as well as leaving dirty marks on the clean paint which then requires a cleaning session to get rid of the marks! I really like Taylors!
Jay