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Choosing mooring lines and fenders, length, diameter and damage at the berth
When choosing lines, bow and stern lines should be about the length of the boat,
springs twice that, fender diameter around two centimetres per metre of boat length.
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Lines that are too short hold the boat rigid, too few fenders let it chafe. Between them they cause the most common damage at the berth, to your own topsides and to your neighbour's. Four fenders are the minimum, over ten metres you need more, and a spare fender for locks is part of the kit.
Damage to the boat alongside is a liability matter, provided you are at fault. On the water, liability follows fault: if the boat next to you is damaged through no fault of yours, in a storm for example, nobody is liable. That is precisely why your own hull cover is what protects you, not your neighbour's liability cover.
Some liability policies include damage to rented property such as pontoons and storage units; others exclude it. In the reverse case, where your boat is damaged and the party responsible cannot pay, cover for irrecoverable claims helps; not every policy includes it. It steps in when a third party is liable but unable to pay.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays if my boat is damaged at the berth?
Where someone else is at fault, the party responsible; in a storm or where nobody is at fault,
your own hull cover.
If the party responsible cannot pay, cover for irrecoverable claims can step in,
where the policy includes it.
Is damage to the pontoons insured?
In some policies yes, as damage to rented property under the liability cover; check the wording.
Worked out for your type of boat
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