The first step in making a boat fender is to lay up a core, with or without two eyes, as desired. Sisal or hemp around 2 1/2 inches in circumference is about right for the core of a medium-sized fender.
Lay the line in bights and seize together. Next, unlay an old piece of 6 or 8 inch mooring line and cut off 3 or 4 lengths of the strands 10 times as long as your fender is to be. If you don't have any old mooring line that you can unlay, use some old 21-thread, or houseline, roundline, or ratline. (The size of the core determines the number of strands necessary. Pull the strands through the eye and even up the ends. Put a temporary whipping on both ends to keep them from coming unraveled while working. Next, start tying wall knots. The first row of knots should be completed and drawn tight.
After completing the last row of wall knots, divide your strands into pairs and tie a crown knot. Complete the fender by working the ends of the strands back up under the wall knots and cutting off flush.
