Bear with me, I'm new to boating and brand new at overnight docking...

Recently docked for a week at a Lake Michigan marina, tied my three
fenders to the starboard side. I tied one to rail for the bow, one
each at midships and aft cleats. With the particular pier, fender at
rub strip level was correct. The chore was untying them and stowing
them when underway, and then pausing at a safe distance from the pier
to get them reattached at the correct height. It seems it would be
easier to use fender locks - set the height one time, then snap them
off and on.

But my questions a

1) How variable, with different piers, is the required fender height?
In other words, can you tie the height one time and almost always just
snap them on, or do you have to scramble when approaching the pier to
get the height right?

2) Has anyone ever put the female side inside of the boat and have the
fender line go up and over the gunwale? It would provide better
accessibility for sanpping and tying.

3)Is it necessary to apply anything to the screw holes to seal against
water (above the water line of course)?

Mitch Gossman