As an avid pontoon boat enthusiast and designer/inventor, Todd Vannatter discovered a common annoyance facing owner operators like himself when trying to secure protective bumpers in place.
Tying the bumpers to the fender rail often resulted in slippage along the rail risking scrapes and scratches to the boat. Many skippers bought plastic hooks or clips that needed to be screwed into the side of the rail. Over time, the screws would loosen tearing a larger hole in the thin aluminum frame which then needed to be replaced with a larger screw and the problem would just repeat itself.
As the proverb goes, "Necessity is the mother of invention". This common problem inspired the design, invention and eventual production of the "Skipper Clip". This simple, but brilliantly conceived device, allows the pontoon boat owner to easily place the protective bumpers precisely where needed for reliable and consistent protection when docking.
Each Skipper Clip fastens with 2 small 1/8 rivets to strongly secure the bracket in place with no chance of tearing out a screw. Rivets used to assemble these pontoon boat fender clips are sealed having a tensile strength of 1200 lbs.
When not used, the clips can be used to hold emergency equipment or a throw bag.
Skipper Clips are sold in packages of 2 and are available in plain stainless steel or with a black powder coating.
