Here’s a trick that I came across on my dad’s boat this past Memorial Day weekend. He often fishes alone, and he needed a quick way to attach the bumpers when pulling into the dock. Plus, with the mooring line and the bumper line on the same cleat, it was crowded and the wrong line was always on top. To solve this, he simply cut an 8-inch piece of PVC pipe that was the correct diameter to fit in a rod holder and drilled a hole through one end of it. He took the rope already attached to the bumpers and guided it through the drilled hole, lined up the bumper with the dock and tied a knot in the end of the rope to hold it in place. Now when it’s time to put the bumpers over the side of the boat, he simply places the PVC pipe in a fi shing rod holder, and his bumpers are in the perfect position.
Scott Mikelbank
East Northport, New York
