From DESIGN NEWS®
by Gary Chamberlain ©
No fender benders.
If you are a boat owner, you want to protect that expensive investment. One way to do that is with the "Fendergrip" that can help prevent boat damage through faster, more effective fender deployment.
The device, made by New World Marine, Inc. (Pompano Beach, FL), eliminates the time required to tie and retie lines. Its push-button feature allows boaters to set fenders instantly at just the right height to cushion bumps against the dock or other boats. A release of the button provides a positive lock to hold the fender line in place.
Fendergrip consists of four parts made of injection-molded acetal--a two-piece housing, a push-button, and a cam--plus four screws and a spring made of stainless steel. Line threaded through the unit is locked between integral teeth in the interior of the housing and the cam. Actuation of the push button disengages the cam and allows raising or lowering of the fender. Molded-in ridges on the casing and push button allow a sure grip, even for wet hands.
The housing parts consist of a special white UV-stabilized Delrin 527 acetal supplied by DuPont Engineering Polymers (Wilmington, DE). The push button and cam are molded from black, 25% glass-reinforced Delrin 577. The reinforcement provides added strength to withstand actuation and locking forces.
New World Marine specified the acetal because of its strength, toughness, low wear and friction, and its resistance to attack by salty air and water, common marine chemicals, and sunlight....
Just how confident is [company
President Peter Cook] in his product? The Fendergrip comes with
a three-year warranty that isn't common in the marine industry,
but "the performance of Delrin lets us provide that service
to our customers," Cook reveals....