Goods and Services

Marine Foam Bumpers Can Help Protect Boats and Docks

Buying a boat is one of the biggest investments you can make, and one that doesn’t end after writing the last payment check. Besides the obvious costs of fuel, registration, and a slip space, every boat requires maintenance along the way to keep it running well. Fortunately, there are myriad ways to minimize the wear and tear on a boat and prevent accidental damage. One of these methods is the implementation of dock bumpers or fenders; padding that protects boats against contact with a dock.

 

Dock bumpers are able to be made in numerous ways from many materials, whether they’re old tires or out of service fire hoses. One material in particular that works well for this marine application is closed-cell foam. With different types of closed-cell foam able to be used in many fashions, from wrapping a foam rubber mat around pilings, to adhering a polyethylene rubber cylinder   to the edge of a dock for a cushioning bumper, protecting a boat with foam is surprisingly easy.

 

Closed-cell foam like gymnastic foam makes excellent protective dock padding because of its combination of water resistance and shock absorption, two of the most-needed qualities in a dock padding material. Many closed-cell foams are nontoxic, which eliminates the worry over polluting the body of water they are used in. To get the job done, bumpers don’t need to be complicated or fancy either. Some people create more than adequate protection from materials as common as pool noodles.

 

The reason these minor investments are so important is that the minimal effort and cost they require greatly outweighs the significant effort and costs that negligence can cause in damage to your boat. By reducing the potential harm of docks, wakes, or even operator error, bumpers are well worth implementing.