The system is designed for boats up to 40ft long and consists of a custom engineered stainless steel horizontal gas spring from Mitcham UK based Industrial Gas Springs Ltd (IGS) connected to a vertical pivoted arm which is mounted on the pontoon. The gas spring arm attaches to the boat hull by a sliding plug connector and a pair of universal joints accommodates the vertical and horizontal movements of the vessel relative to the mooring.

The length of the system's arm can be easily adjusted to suit different craft.

The device's special purpose IGS gas spring incorporates an integral oil reservoir for prolonged horizontal use and is fully suited to marine use, with maintenance free seals and stainless steel end fittings.

In operation, the gas spring provides the axial force to ensure the required stand off as well as an extra long 520mm stroke to accommodate boat movement, even in gale or storm force conditions. Inventor Richard Meredith said, 'During particularly strong surges the spring's maximum force may be overcome, resulting in very occasional use of the conventional fenders. Even so, for 99.99% of the time, the craft's fenders will simply not come into play.'

Additional features of the system include automatic disconnection of the unit if the craft loses its mooring lines or its skipper forgets to disconnect the system before setting off.

Several innovative features have been incorporated in the gas spring designed, developed and manufactured in-house by IGS for this application. These include a larger diameter body than standard in order to provide a near constant spring rate over its full stroke. Also, the sealed for life unit is required to be undamped and has been specified with a 316 stainless steel rod for maximum corrosion resistance.

MJ Information No: 20826