If protecting your pontoon boat from unnecessary bumps and scrapes hasn’t been on your radar yet, it really should be. Please don’t leave it too late, because sooner or later, you will wish you’d invested in some fenders or bumpers.
Fenders are an essential item to help protect your pontoon when in dock, or against more careless pontooners who might dock or anchor beside you.
But having them is one thing. Being able to use them properly is an entirely different matter, especially when you are docking into an area where you haven’t been before, and perhaps the dock sides are higher or lower than what you are used to.
And this is where pontoon boat fender adjusters come in handy.
You can use them to adjust the height of your fenders in relation to your boat to the dock really quickly, and there’s only really one brand that I recommend in this area.
It’s Taylor Made.
Taylor Made Pontoon Rail Fender Hanger Review
Taylor Made sell a range of brilliant pontoon rail fender adjuster kits that are easy to operate, quick to use, effective, and also won’t break the bank in terms of how much you have to pay for them.
Before you go off and buy one of their pontoon fender adjuster products though, let me tell you a little more about them, and why I believe them to be the best.
The best adjuster for your pontoon’s rail is the cheapest of the Taylor Made products. It’s a pack of 4 plastic clips that are designed to snap onto square rails (take a look on Amazon).
Don’t let the cheap look put you off.
If you don’t want to be frantically trying to tie a knot when you get into dock, then these are the adjusters you need.
The little clips snap onto and over your square rails and have a hole in them which you can thread your fender through and then tie a small knot at the end so the line doesn’t slip.
If there is one downside to them, it’s that as easy as you can put them on, they are just as easy to come off. When using them on my pontoon, I’ve been a bit heavy handed and knocked them off the rail when pulling my rope through.
Thankfully though, they do float so I can hook them out of the water with a net. Even if you do lose a few, at this price, it’s worth buying more than one pack and keeping them on your boat for when you need them next.
What’s Included:
- The original pontoon rail fender clip
- Designed to fit both 1.25″ and 1” square tube rails on pontoon boats
- Clamps securely to square tubing yet can be repositioned quickly and easily
- Constructed from durable ABS plastic
- Allows for simple height adjustment of fenders
- For lines up to 3/8 inch
Taylor Made Pontoon Rail Fender Adjuster Review
Secondly we have the Taylor Made Tidy-Ups (view on Amazon). It’s a very affordable fender adjuster for pontoon boat rails. It’s one of their most popular adjusters, available in three different colors so you can match the kit to your fender and comes with a quick connect clip on the back, so you can mount it onto your pontoon rails.
Be aware though, these work best on round rails best. If you have square rails, and you probably will on your boat, then you will need to hang them from the vertical supports to get the best results.
All you do is simply thread your fender rope (up to 1.5 inch thick) through the bar, which then pinches to hold it into place. Then mount the adjuster over your railing and secure it in place with one click.
To adjust the height of the fender up or down, you just push your finger to apply some pressure to a small roller in the adjuster and pull the rope through or down depending on the docking scenario. Dead simple, I promise you.
I have used these exact same fender adjusters for my pontoon boat rails for the last few years and swear by them. I have never had any problems with them, and they work perfectly.
To see it in action, go watch this video below on YouTube. You will need to skip to around 2 minutes and 9 seconds to see the Tidy-Ups being demonstrated.
- 1 x Tidy Up fender adjuster and 6 feet of 3/8″ rope. Fenders are not included, you will need to buy those separately.
- 3/8″ solid braid polypropylene rope with UV protection and pre-spliced end
- Newly redesigned thicker and stronger PVC mounting band snaps over any rail, lifeline, or stanchion
- Ropes are color matched to Taylor Made Fenders
- Rope will not kink and is fade, mildew, and rot resistant
As you can see from the product listing on Amazon, they are designed to be used on round rails. I know what you are thinking – most rails on pontoon boats are square, so will these actually work or not on square rails?
Yes, is the answer. But you will need to do something extra.
The buckle won’t fit around the square railing that is common of pontoons, so instead you hang them from the vertical supports instead, and it works just fine.
Other Available Pontoon Boat Fender Adjusters
Taylor Made also do some other pontoon fender adjusters, so if you don’t think this is quite right for you, I would recommend that you explore the entire range. All I will say, is that the one I’ve highlighted above works perfectly on pontoon boat rails.
To see all pontoon rail fender adjuster products from Taylor Made, go look on Amazon.
What Other Pontooners Are Saying
Don’t just take my word for it though. I asked the question on Facebook to find out who in the pontoon world is using these fender adjusters for their pontoon boat rails. Here are just a few of the comments I received back.
“I use the Taylor Made fender adjusters and they are great. They are easy to put on and easy to take off. I have had a few fenders depart the boat underway though, but that was when I forgot to take them off after departing slip!”
“Taylor Made Tidy-Ups are worth the extra dollars, not that they cost much mind. They make it really simple if you need to make quick adjustments to your fenders.”
“They are awesome. I bought the Tidy-Ups in spring for my Godfrey pontoon and so far, so good. I didn’t hang mine the rail though and instead used the optional strapping to attach them to the deck framing so all you see is the fender and no strap.”
If you want to know which fenders and bumpers I recommend, although I assume you already own some, then read my guide to fenders and bumpers.
