Replacing Cleats

wchevron · #1 (**permalink**) 03-26-2008

i'm thinking of replacing my 6" cleats with some 8". when replacing, what type of adhesive should i use on the deck. i don't want to use 3m 5200, the general consensus is i'll never get the cleats off again. also, i have to add a deck fill for a new waste tank. can i use the same adhesive that i would use on the cleats?

WuWei · #2 (**permalink**) 03-26-2008

Good choice on not using 5200- it gets weird after a while, and is a beeyatch to get off. When we took ours off, we scraped away all the 5200 nightmare and resealed using silicone. I hear 4200 works, too, but I chose silicone this time. We found out none of our cleats had backing plates, so made some out of stainless. The silicone seems to be holding up pretty well right now.

Freesail99 · #3 (**permalink**) 03-26-2008

For a cleat I would use 4200 and a strong backing plate such as a piece of stainless steel. Fill the former holes with thicken epoxy. Be sure to paint the epoxy.

sailingdog · #4 (**permalink**) 03-26-2008

I wouldn't recommend using 5200. Use boatlife or 3M 4200. Pot the holes by drilling oversized and filling with thickened epoxy and then re-drilling. Then counter sink the top a bit to give the sealant a place to form an "o-ring" under the cleat.

BTW, what size lines are you planning on using on the cleats. If the lines are 1/2" lines, they should be fine. If the lines are 9/16" or 5/8", get 10" cleats. If the deck fills are bronze or stainless... use the 4200... if they're plastic, use silicone.

SVDistantStar · #5 (**permalink**) 03-26-2008

Im kinda in the same boat here. Ive got a very busy fordeck cleat on my Pearson. It not only has both the mooring lines on it, but also the line going to the bow of my Bayfield. I want to add 2 more cleats on the bow. I can get to the area under the fordeck to put in good backing plates. Ive been thinking of buying 3-10'' cleats and also replacing the cleat that lives there now.

Dont mind the rusty chain, its all i could afford at the time, ive got a nicer piece of chain that was donated to me by a cruiser.

Hartley18 · #6 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVDistantStar

Im kinda in the same boat here. Ive got a very busy fordeck cleat on my Pearson. It not only has both the mooring lines on it, but also the line going to the bow of my Bayfield. I want to add 2 more cleats on the bow. I can get to the area under the fordeck to put in good backing plates. Ive been thinking of buying 3-10'' cleats and also replacing the cleat that lives there now. [/IMG]

With the load from the mooring lines and another boat all hanging off a single cleat, wouldn't you be better off with a 4"x4" Samson post??

Seems to me it might cause way less mix-ups and be far stronger than your current setup.. and you could wrap the anchor chain around it too!

SVDistantStar · #7 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008

Its not too bad. The new mooring lines are on there with loops in the end of the lines, so no cleating off. The line for Lola is just looped on there. It all fits, but its still a mess. And yes that sucker has a big backing plate behind it.

sailingdog · #8 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008

Hartley—

IMHO, the three cleats can spread the load out over a greater area of the deck and handle multiple lines more gracefully, with less risk of ripping them out of the deck. If all the lines were led to a single 4" mooring bitt...the bitt would have exceptionally high surge loads on a very small section of deck with more leverage—due to the higher load point of a mooring bitt—than the three cleats would.

Hartley18 · #9 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Hartley—

IMHO, the three cleats can spread the load out over a greater area of the deck and handle multiple lines more gracefully, with less risk of ripping them out of the deck. If all the lines were led to a single 4" mooring bitt...the bitt would have exceptionally high surge loads on a very small section of deck with more leverage—due to the higher load point of a mooring bitt—than the three cleats would.

Dog, you make a good point, but if it were me, I'd be worried about:

1. My toes whilst moving around the foredeck,
2. The headsail (or sheets) getting jammed under one (of many) cleats in a blow, or
3. My fingers getting caught whilst trying to release the mooring lines in a contrary wind/tide.

..but if it's what you're used to...

SVDistantStar · #10 (**permalink**) 03-27-2008

Ive seen a boat before that had their mooring cleats on the side of the bow. They were about 3'' below the rail and about 10'' back from the bow. Ive thought about doing that before.