Hi, I checked into this for my 7' Fatty Knees dinghy also. IIRC, the first place I checked (Add-a-Bouy?) didn't make them anymore or was out of business. Then I got a link for another place, that I can't remember, but that had a name that had something to do with "doggie." I let that go because it was going to be prohibitively expensive ($400? $700? it was so expensive I immediately put it out of mind). I also considered the fender idea that Howard describes, but I don't have that many small fenders, so it had the disadvantage of being a bit on the pricey side - unless you already have all the fenders and need a place to store them ;-) They're also slightly heavy. That idea still lurks as an option though. The idea I'm working on now (still in progress) involves two large "pool noodles" -- the brightly-colored foam tubes kids play with. This spring Wal-Mart had some extra-fat ones for $5 apiece. I bought a couple and immediately rigged them up temporarily, just to try them out, one just under each gunwale the length of the boat. They're hollow, so you can run ropes through the middle. The added flotation was amazing. As in, you could just about stand on the gunwales without tipping the dinghy or filling it with water. The next thing I did was buy a couple of feet of clear hose and cut it into ~6" lengths, which I jam fit into all the ends, to reinforce them. At this point you could use them as is, with perhaps one strap-eye mounted below the middle section, to keep them from riding up. I haven't gotten this far yet. Since I have some Sunbrella-type scraps, I'm considering sewing some sleeves for them which would incorporate a couple of tie down points. We'll see. This project is going hand-in-hand with the one where I'm just adding a smaller gunwale pad for everyday use. I envision the noodles for snorkeling and/or heavy loads in rough weather. Were you thinking of this for your M-15 or for a dinghy? FWIW --- Rachel Former owner, M-17 #334 Former owner, M-15 #517 Currently cruising on Westsail 32 #412 On Thursday, November 6, 2003, at 03:32 AM, Howard Audsley wrote:
The "poor mans" version of this is to make your own out of a set of those hollow center boat bumpers. Pick the size you want. Just string them together like popcorn at Christmas. You can use eye bolts along the gunnels to hold them up. They float and act as bumpers to hold the hard dingy off the mothership.