Lee cloth hardware..How do dis work?

[L124C]

My boat has a Lee cloth set up in one of the bunks. The fixture in the picture (there are two opposing each other) is obviously designed to support the Lee cloth (the white reflection above the hole is from the flash). It's about 3/8" in diameter, however, it has no threads to screw an eye or other hardware into. It seems like a rod would need to have an expansion mechanism in the middle, but I can't imagine that being over 6' long and only 3/8" diameter, it would provide enough lateral force to keep someone from rolling out. The cloth is in place, but I've never found any hardware on the boat that would work. Ideas? My picture failed to upload so I'll do another post to show it.

[L124C]

Picture

[remetau]

To me, those look more like the support holes for a post to a bunk. Does your settee turn into a bunk?

[L124C]

Originally Posted by remetau

To me, those look more like the support holes for a post to a bunk. Does your settee turn into a bunk?

The hole in the picture is in the midships Bulkhead (vertical surface), and is approximately 18 inches above the Settee. So I don't think so.

[Omatako]

It would appear that it may have been rigged for a sprung telescoping bar that is probably substantially thick perhaps made of wood with a stainless fitting at each end that plugs into the fitting you show.

Does it have such a fitting both ends? If not I withdraw from the discussion.

[remetau]

Originally Posted by L124C

The hole in the picture is in the midships Bulkhead (vertical surface), and is approximately 18 inches above the Settee. So I don't think so.

That would be correct. The back of our setee swings up to form the bottom of the top bunk. Are you sure you don't have a hinge on the back of your setee? Here is a pic of one of the post holes on our boat:

[L124C]

Originally Posted by Omatako

It would appear that it may have been rigged for a sprung telescoping bar that is probably substantially thick perhaps made of wood with a stainless fitting at each end that plugs into the fitting you show.

Does it have such a fitting both ends? If not I withdraw from the discussion.

That makes sense. Yes, two fittings oppose each other, about 75" apart. Don't have a picture of the telescoping bar do you?

[L124C]

Originally Posted by remetau

That would be correct. The back of our settee swings up to form the bottom of the top bunk. Are you sure you don't have a hinge on the back of your settee? Here is a pic of one of the post holes on our boat:

Nope...no hinges. Interesting though. So, half the weight of the person in the bunk is suspended on those fittings? At 260, I think I'll take the lower bunk!
In my case, the Lee Cloth was in place, so I know my fittings support it. I just need to figure out how. I assumed some pad eyes would screw into them, I would attach a line to the eyes and run it through the Lee Cloth and viola! But alas...no threads The loops in the Lee Cloth are ample, so the large wooden pole theory makes sense.

[merc2dogs]

Many bunks use slide-bolt latches for mounting, simple and easy.

(The type with a simple round bar in a slotted tube that slides into a hole or loop, larger versions often used on gates)

They often had the rear edge of the upper bunk sit on a ledge, or hinged (with a piano hinge) and the open side supported by the latches.

With only 18" clearance, depending of upper's height, it may have been intended as a table or work surface, or maybe as the only bunk.

Ken.

[JohnRPollard]

I'd go with the suggestion that the hardware in the picture was intended to support a bunk, not for the lee clothes.

It may be that the back of your settee is no longer hinged, but used to be. That was a fairly common arrangement a few decades ago, but over the years a lot of boats have been reconfigured. It is usually easier to leave the hardware in place than it is to repair/replace the wood where it was mounted.

If someone did install that hardware simply for lee clothes, they sure made an odd hardware selection. There are so many easier ways to do it.....