Exile ball fenders for docks?
 

I've find plenty of threads talking about how amazing these are for tying up to other boats. Honestly don't do this often so I'm not too concerned, but I am looking for something better to space me from a houseboat (obviously these will work) and when tying up to a dock overnight.

Will these work fine? Haven't seen much about how they hold up against normal old wood docks.....I'd like to save some cash by not needing the $50/ea taylormade or poly form ones, but if these are going to pop it's a waste

Thanks.

I haven't seen one pop yet and we have been using them since they came out. These are thicker than the normal hippity hops. You will be fine. We got stuck Ina 50 mph + wind storm in which the dock broke loose and those balls were the only thing that saved the boats.

how are they on the gel coat?

They are great on gel coat. That is the reason I use them. I usually have a black boat and sick of the scuffs from other bumpers. They are soft rubber and not hard plastic like traditional bumpers. I have been using standard Toys R Us hippity hops for about 7-8 years now and will never go back. I still have some of them from way back then. I am slowly transitioning to Exile ones cause they are thicker. If you really want to get them bigger you can blow them up with an air compressor. Don't explode them, but they will get a bit bigger. They are cheaper and way better than traditional bumpers. Just grab 5'-6' of rope and tie it off on the handle and then you can tie to your cleat and there is still enough room to tie to the dock or the next boat.
http://exileaudio.com/store/index.ph...ll-fender.html

They aren't the right approach for docks.

For a houseboat, possibly. Depends on what the side of the houseboat looks like.

Carry these for rafting to other boats, and get some good 8-10" diameter standard fenders for tying up to docks.

There isn't 1 solution that works everywhere.

If the houseboat was mine, i'd go old school wiht some hard mounted bumpers, or old tires with some sort of cloth cover.

I use these for raft ups and for tying up to wooden docks all the time without an issue. I can forsee an issue the the wooden dock has no sides for the ball to rest against however.

I use mine on docks as well. I guess it does depend on your dock structure, but I won't tied up with a standard fender. Standard fenders scuff your gel coat. If you are not anal or don't have a colored hull then knock your self out, but once you try using these hippity hops, you will never go back to a standard fender.