T-H Marine Floating Fender Line 3/8 in x 5 ft, Set of 2

Fenders only do their job if they hang where you need them, and that's exactly what this T-H Marine fender line set is built for. You get two 5-foot lines, each 3/8 inch thick, with a built-in eye loop worked into one end. Loop that eye around your fender's eyelet, run the free end to a rail or cleat, tie it off, and you're protected before the dock even gets close.

The line is solid-braided from premium multi-filament polypropylene. That construction matters more than it sounds. Solid braid gives you a smooth, round line with no rough lay to chew up your hands, and it holds a knot or a cleat hitch without working loose as the boat surges against the dock. The multi-filament poly is soft enough to handle easily, yet firm enough to keep its shape when it's coiled in a locker.

Because it's polypropylene, it floats. Drop an end over the side while you're rigging a fender and it stays on the surface instead of sinking toward your prop or wrapping your running gear. Poly also doesn't soak up water, so these lines won't get heavy, waterlogged, or stiff after a wet weekend, and they won't rot or grow mildew the way a natural-fiber line can. Rinse them, coil them, stow them.

The white finish is UV-resistant, which is the part cheap line skips. Fender lines live in the sun. They hang off the rail all season, and untreated line goes chalky, brittle, and weak within a summer or two. The UV inhibitor in this line keeps it flexible and holding its strength through real sun exposure, so you're not re-rigging fenders every spring.

3/8 inch is the sweet spot for most small and mid-size boat fenders. It's thick enough to take the load and easy to grip when you're reaching over the gunwale one-handed, but not so bulky that the knot swallows a standard fender eye. Five feet of length suits the freeboard on the majority of runabouts, bowriders, center consoles, and pontoons. You've got enough line to reach from a bow or stern rail down toward the waterline with some to spare for the tie-off.

The set of two is the practical touch. Most of the time you're hanging fenders in pairs, one forward and one aft on the side you're bringing in, so a two-pack rigs a whole side out of one package. Keep a set in the console and you've always got a matched pair ready when you raft up to a buddy or slide into an unfamiliar slip.

This is a purpose-built fender line, so use it for what it's made for: hanging fenders quickly and keeping your hull off the dock, the piling, or the next boat over. The eye loop makes rigging and un-rigging fast, which is what you want when conditions change and you need to move a fender from one side to the other in a hurry. And if you run white fenders and white rail gear, these blend right in.

Rigging is simple. Pass the eye loop through your fender's molded eyelet and feed the working end back through the loop for a quick girth hitch, or shackle the eye to the fender if yours is set up that way. Run the other end up to the nearest rail or cleat at the height you want the fender to ride, then finish with a cleat hitch or a couple of half hitches, and adjust the length so the fender sits right at the rub rail. When you're done for the day, a quick freshwater rinse knocks off the salt, and a loose coil keeps the line and its UV-resistant finish looking sharp for next season.