On Jun 20, 10:46*am, Richard Casady wrote:

There is something called a Yokahama fender. Steel frame covered with
tires, maybe ten feet long. They cost something like fifteen grand ten
years ago.

Nah. Yokos are just giant pneumatic fenders. Originally invented by
the Yokohama Rubber Company, hence the name. These days many Yokos are
made in China, not by YRC.

Some do Yokos have a protective cage of tyres around them, but the
fender proper is just a giant pneumatic fender with a pressure around
7 psi.

You can see Yokos at most big ports for ship to dock fendering.
Floating Yokos are also used for ship to ship fendering.

Keith Loutit's 'Bathtub V' T http://vimeo.com/5137183 likely shows
Yokos. Fun to watch anyway.