GL: Haybales?

[LRZeitlin at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/2/07 12:00:37 AM, Fred writes:


> Whatever you do,
> forget about hay-bale fenders!
> 
> 

Many boaters mourned whan hay bale fenders were banned from the Erie and 
Champlain canals. Haybales are simply large plastic feedbags stuffed with straw. 
They were cheap, effective, and disposable. When through the canal it was a 
tradition to give them to another boater headed the other way. Many haybales made 
four or five trips through the canal before disintegrating into their 
component parts. But disintegrate they eventually did and left the canal full of 
floating debris.

A good replacment for the haybale, and almost as cheap, is a large plastic 
playball stuffed into a cloth or plastic sack. The PVC playballs are available 
at WalMart and most supermarkets for $3 to $5. They are unbelievably strong and 
can take the full pressure of a trawler against a canal wall. After all, a 
child's playgraound is the most destructive environment known to man, other than 
actual combat. Simply tie a few sacks stuffed with playballs to your gunwale 
and you hull will be protected from all the unkindly scrapes of lock walls. 
When you finish your trip, you can give the balls to a kid at dockside.

Larry Z


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