On another of the sailing forums I frequent, a poster asked about fender boards. For the cruising sailor, especially one that has to deal with slips that have rough pilings, concrete or stone seawalls or locks, fender boards can prevent a lot of damage to the boat and fenders.
The simplest fender board to make would be to take a piece of pressure treated 4-8' long, 2×6 or 2×8 and drill a 1″ hole in the board about two inches down from one long side, and about a foot in. Then drill a 3/8″ hole through the side of the board so it ends in the 1″ hole.
Put a line through the hole and tie a stopper knot in the end. Run the free end (that comes out of the 3/8″ hole) through a fender grommet and a stopper knot just above the fender, so the board is roughly centered on the fender. Leave the rest for tying it to the boat. Then drill two more matching holes on the other long side of the board, and put a shorter piece of line in the hole, tying a stopper knot in the end. Tie the free end of that to the other end of the fender... keeping the fenders in position on the board.
The board will end up looking something like this:
(http://www.adriftatsea.com/files/fenderboard.png)
Fenderboard Drawing
The fenders would be on the boat's side of the board, and tied to the line that holds the fenderboard to the boat, and to the board itself, so they can't shift or roll out of position too easily. This assumes you're using fenders that look like this:
(http://shop.sailboatowners.com/emp/images/product/459.jpg)
image courtesy of sailboatowners.com
Another option would be to make the line that goes into the bottom hole a bit longer, and run it through a fender that looks like this, and tie it to the line coming out of the top hole, that ties to the boat.
(http://www.jimbuoy.com/images/product/marine/hurricane.jpg)
Image courtesy of Jimbuoy.com
The advantage of this is that the fenders can roll a bit, which might be a good thing.
A decent idea- and believe me, a fender board can be a godsend in some places. It's the ONLY way you can tie up alongside pilings without damage to the boat.
City docks in Morgan City Louisiana comes to mind-Nasty spot.
Yes, it's also very helpful if you have to raft up with steel boats, especially if you're doing a canal passage.
Morgan City Louisiana, now that brings back memories. Also, liked the fender board.
For smaller boats a 1x6 is fine. Pick a place to stow them and make the length of your board(s) accordingly.
I like to put the holes for hanging lines closer to the ends -- I find it gives me more flexibility. Even on my larger boat I am reluctant to dedicate fenders to the boards. On a small boat it would really be a pain to have to stow boards with attached fenders, and you would still want to carry a reasonable number of loose fenders. Not so good.