J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment bump rail?

Good afternoon,

I've noticed in a couple of places where a bump rail should be, there is some paint scuffed off through to primer. Most of this has been from rubbing a bit over time on PVC covered piles in our slip. There's not a lot of clearance between her beam and the piles and if the water level changes a bit, she can get just close enough to rub. A couple others I'll attribute to gentle learning curve in docking...all small and cosmetic. We plan on just getting them touched up this winter. However, besides just not bumping her into the piles, are there any preventative measures anyone has heard of? What I was kind of thinking was perhaps there is a more durable paint that I can apply to just the edge as kind of a more subtle bump rail. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?

Thanks,

Nate

Will a fender board fit between the piling and the boat? I was in a slip with nasty concrete pilings so i used a fender board ( 2 X 6 with small bumpers towards the hull ). After 21 years in FL Hurricane Irma caused a rub through on the gel coat at the finger pier. The repair was excellent, can't see where it was damaged.

I probably have enough space for a fenderboard. We're going to look into that for next season. I have to get the edge repaired anyways, so I was hoping to do the repair with a paint or coating that was a little bit more proactive if contact should ever happen in the future. I suppose I've got to look for a good boat repair place in my area.

Anyone in SE Michigan have an opinion on whom I should have do the repair...Its just down to grey primer in a couple spots along the edge.