GL: DON'T USE FENDER COVERS!

[allen]

> Take a look at www.thevirtualboatyard.com for the post "The Lost Art of 
> Fender Boards" under Anchoring & Docking..

Thanks.  Good article.  It also reminds us to check the inflation on our 
fenders from time to time.

One comment:  The illustration shows one board amidships.  In my experience, 
that is good about 75% of the time.  We used two, they overlapped a bit and 
they went further fore and aft, plus we had a roving fender near the bow. 
My take is that you cannot be too careful, and more fenders is better than 
too few.  Boats do twist, and in a moment of distraction, contact of any 
point from bow to stern is possible.   For sailboats with the mast down on a 
cradle, the windex on the tip may be at risk, of occasional contact with 
other boats or the lock, so that is something to think about, too.

Although it is usually possible to dock consistently on the same side while 
locking through, sometimes it may be necessary to switch the fenders from 
port to starboard or vice versa with short notice, so however the fenders 
and boards are attached, the arrangement should be quickly changeable.  I.e. 
the fender boards should be something one person can handle fairly easily. 
Ours were just 1 X 8 boards hung outside the normal fenders and that worked 
just fine.