Fenders

Since we returned from our extended trip, we have only taken out Albert once for a short trip. We incorporated our monthly walking group outing with a boat trip for our friends. However Albert has seen some small improvements, one of which was new front fender. When we purchased Albert back in 2003 the front fender was basically shot so we purchased a new one - a fancy button vee. The fancy refers to the fact that it was decorated with a turks head. It lasted well but over the years it had become compressed, and for some strange reason become twisted.

A visit to Tradline at Braunstone produced a new button vee, this time not fancy. They produced the last fender. I note that the new fender is somewhat deeper that the original, even taking into account the compression, and that the core is rubber not rope as the last fender. Maybe the rubber core will resist distortion a bit better than rope. I remember Colin Jones at the fender-making class I attended at Stoke Bruerne Museum in the 1990s stressing the importance of the core but he was not keen on rubber. However, we had a rubber-cored front fender on our last boat and it lasted over 10 years.


Button-vee front fender


Stern fenders - two tip cats and a button