![]() One precaution: Don't select whips that are too small for your boat's length and weight. Some of the more common options are shown below. Today's fiberglass mooring whips are very similar to those offered decades ago, with subtle refinements, and some newer systems don't use tension poles at all. Release the line and the whip's reactive spring force moves it back away from the dock again. Of course it can also be done by simply pulling on one whip's line for a minute, which brings the boat in closer to the dock momentarily so you can board. As for boarding and debarking, that's done with the whips disconnected. Four docklines (two securing lines and two spring lines) and the two whips, and you're done. Never fear - releasing the boat and pulling it into the dock only takes a minute. The entire setup can appear intimidating, not just to hook and unhook the boat, but to board and debark as well. Properly tensioned, the poles arc downward when hooked to the boat, using that spring tension to hold the boat a couple of feet away from the dock - and keep it there even when wakes come crashing. Most consist of two large, tapered fiberglass poles affixed to the dock at a specific angle, connected to your boat via light nylon lines that can be adjusted. Basically, mooring whips are like big fishing poles mounted to the dock. Mooring whips have been around for many decades, and they're extremely effective. If yours is a single-pier dock and you can't center your boat between two piers so it won't hit either, and a boat lift is impractical for your waters (perhaps it's too shallow), then mooring whips may be your solution to protecting your boat from high winds and passing boat wakes. That leaves a mark - rub rail damage and “dock rash” (gelcoat chips and scratches) that are expensive and tough to fix. Your boat gets tossed like a cork, crashing it against your dock. The boat parade past your dock, towing wakeboards and tubes, sometimes inadvertently trailing large wakes.
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