I've always had a boat with gel sides, and been lucky that gel is pretty durable. I painted my boat this winter, and am wondering what guys with high dollar paint jobs use for bumpers? I've seen the "covers" for regular bumpers. How well do they work? Who makes them? Any suggestions on what may be the easiest on clear to prevent scratching and abrasion marks?

I had a few made for my fathers boat at the local shop out of I think it was terry cloth. Real soft and matched the boat.

I have used the bumpers that have the covers. I almost want to say its the same material that are used in wet suits. They work very well.

http://www.mecoastmarine.com/

Greast topic! I too want to know what others use, right now I use just the bumpers but just had the boat re painted, west marine sells bumper socks but is there anything better?

around here everyone uses those loose fitting "socks". One of the few times I allowed an un-covered bumper against my boat in a raft up I ended up with deep scratches in the gel somehow. I don't even think the type of material really matters so long as it's washable. When the boats rub together the fabric allows the fendere to spin/slip inside the sock instead of dragging/rubbing against the hull.

Plus one for proper terminology. "Bumpers" are attached to docks.
Minus one for spelling.

Cloth fender covers work very well as long as you make sure that you wash them whenever they are exposed to dirt. Unlike the hard surface of the fender, which will wipe off, the dirt can get into the texture of the fabric and make things far, far worse. There are several manufacturers out there, just stay away from the "mesh" style; they pull and tear worse than a cheap sweater.

Cape hatteras marine..... Ordered mine yesterday. There was a thread a little over a year agp and they came across with the best reviews from oso users. $160 for 4 of them custom embroidered and shipped.

Luv the fleece also-
http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/brow...ies/2,344.html
My Black boat has to have them.

we use the rubber bumpers with the nylon socks...then again we dont have a high dollar boat with a crazy paint scheme.