Laura Shaughnessy is the former managing editor at Dockwalk.
As all good crew know, yachting takes work to protect and clean the pricey toys.
Enter Fendertex, “the lightest, strongest, and best-looking fenders on the market today,” says Dan Schalk, Southeast sales manager with PYI Inc. “Fendertex are the first and only textile fenders in the world. The advantages of this textile outer shell is a game-changer for large yachts and superyachts, as they are lighter, stronger, and more stowable than any other fender on the market.”
Schalk says these are the world’s only patented inflatable textile fenders. They consist of an ultrasonically welded polyurethane inner bladder and a knitted, one-piece outer shell.
“Compared to other brands of inflatable fenders, Fendertex is lighter, takes much less space when deflated, is much stronger due to the immense textile strength, and can be personalized within the knit of the fabric,” Schalk says.
Every filament of the textile is dyed, meaning that there is minimal color fading — Fendertex guarantees the color for three years. “The Fendertex fenders are much easier on the hull paint, as they do not depolymerize or retain salt, ” Schalk says. The fenders are entirely machine washable (without the removal of the bladder) making cleaning very easy.
Though Fendertex was launched in 2014 in Europe, they only came to the U.S. at the end of 2019. Prices start at $357.
This column is taken from the October 2020 issue of Dockwalk.