T-H Marine 5-1/2 x 20 in Inflatable Boat Fender

A good fender is one of those things you don't think about until you're easing into a slip with wind on the beam and nothing between your gelcoat and a concrete piling. This T-H Marine fender is the fix. It's a 5-1/2 inch diameter by 20 inch cylinder made from premium marine grade PVC, inflatable, in a clean white that won't leave black scuff marks on your hull. Simple gear that does one job and does it well.

What makes this one easy to live with is the two rope holes, one at each end. Run a line through one and it hangs vertically off a rail or lifeline for coming alongside a dock. Thread a line through both and it hangs horizontally against a piling or another boat when you're rafting up. Same fender, two ways to deploy, depending on what the day calls for.

The 5-1/2 by 20 inch size is a practical middle ground. It's a sensible pick for smaller runabouts, center consoles, jon boats, pontoons, and day boats, where a full-size cruising fender would be overkill and just get in the way. Keep two or three aboard and you've got both sides covered with a spare left over for the bow or a raft-up.

Premium marine grade PVC is the part that matters over the long haul. It shrugs off sun, salt, and the constant rub against a dock without cracking or going brittle the way cheap vinyl does. White keeps it cooler in the sun and looks clean hanging off the rail. When you're done for the day you can leave it topped off and ready in a locker, or deflate it down if you're tight on stowage.

How many you carry comes down to your boat and how you tie up. A rule of thumb a lot of boaters go by is one fender for every ten feet of length, with a minimum of three, so you can protect the widest point plus the bow and stern quarter. On a boat that sits at a slip all season, it's worth having a dedicated set rigged and ready so you're not scrambling every time you come in.

Rigging a fender is dead simple, but it's worth doing right. Run your line through one of the rope holes and tie it off to a cleat, rail, or lifeline with a clove hitch and a couple of half hitches so it doesn't walk loose. Set the height so the fat part of the fender sits right where your hull meets the dock. Too high and it rides up over the edge, too low and it just drags in the water doing nothing. On a floating dock, hang it a bit lower than you would on a fixed one.

For horizontal deployment, thread a line through both rope holes and suspend it flat. That's the setup you want against a piling, a rough bulkhead, or when you're rafting up to another boat and want a longer contact patch spreading the load. It's also handy at a busy fuel dock where you're only alongside for a few minutes and want quick, broad protection.

One honest note. This is a single fender, and the line isn't included. Fenders get sold by the piece on purpose, so you can buy the right number for your boat and rig them with fender line sized to your freeboard. Grab some quality line separately and you're set.

Care is about as easy as it gets. Rinse the salt off with fresh water now and then, wipe away any dock grime, and check that it's holding air before a big trip. The marine grade PVC handles UV and abrasion well, but like anything that lives outside, a quick freshwater rinse keeps it white and stretches its life. Coming into an unfamiliar marina or tying up to a rough public wall, this is cheap insurance that pays for itself the first time it saves your hull.