Mid-Ship Cleat

[asalotto]

Hi all,

Long-time sailor, but new to cruising and cruising boats (new to inboards, slips, etc.). I'm considering the purchase of a Catalina 315. It does not come with a mid-ship cleat. I can add one, but I'm told it may interfere with safe travel from stern to bow and back. Is it worth it? I'll be doing a lot of solo sailing, and I'm concerned about coming into a slip without one. I'm also wondering why Catalina doesn't have it standard, as they do on the larger models. Advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Anthony

 

[Nodak7]

I believe for a smaller boat it may not be necessary. However it would be nice when docking. We always throw the midship line to the dock first. It is also a convenient place to tie the spring lines to as well. Just my thoughts. 31 Feet is not long and you can make it from one end to the other pretty quickly. May not be worth the trouble to install them. IMHO.

 

[sail sfbay]

Welcome to the forum!!

A mid-ship cleat is useful when docking as you can motor up to a dock, attach a dock line to the mid-ship cleat, then loop a cleat on the dock, set the helm over and step off. The boat would sit quiet and secure while you casually set your fore and aft mooring and spring lines. That maneuver will impress your marina neighbors with your docking skills. That is how we always dock our sailboat.

 

[Cat 310 #1 in GA]

We added the type that slides onto the Genoa track and usee it only for docking. Midship cleats are very useful for docking for sure. Otherwise we do not use it and only have one which we can move to whichever side we are docking.

 

[Tally Ho]

Different boat, but a PO installed mid-ship cleats on my O’Day 322. I am happy to have them, but I have stubbed my toe on them a few times.

My Hunter 280 did not have mid-ship cleats, and I missed them.

Greg

 

[BobH57]

Mid-ship cleats are also very handy for tying off a boom brake system or boom preventer when sailing downwind.

 

[dlochner]

Second Star has outboard genoa tracks that we never use when sailing, so we installed Schaeffer rail mount cleats and use them for docking and for spring lines. They work well and are out of the way, no stubbed toes.

Garhauer also make rail cleats and I have used them on another boat, Schaffer's are just more attractive and a little more expensive.

 

[jmce1587]

CS Johnson makes a mid ship cleat. I have the toe rail mounted version On port & starboard. Work great for docking

Cleats : C.S. Johnson, Online Store

 

[Ron20324]

Remember, Phil is coming up with a new toe rail cleat, even if fot Hunter rails. Might fit others. My B323 came with a fairlead opening in the side rails, but no cleat. I got 2 B OEM cleats like the bow and stern. It has been great- especially for spring lines, as my club does alot of rafting.

 

[WayneH]

I've have wooden toe rails on my '80 Tartan. One of the Tartan owners has installed this on his boat.
https://www.spartanmarine.com/all-products/mid-rail-chock
Me? I'm still chicken to cut up my toe rails.

 

[rgranger]

If you are worried about interference install one of these

 

[Ken Cross]

Our Hunter 30 has no midship cleat, but I tie off to the toe rail. That's what those holes are for. It works great.

Ken

 

[Tomusa]

Our Hunter 30 has no midship cleat, but I tie off to the toe rail. That's what those holes are for. It works great.

Ken

Hi all,

Long-time sailor, but new to cruising and cruising boats (new to inboards, slips, etc.). I'm considering the purchase of a Catalina 315. It does not come with a mid-ship cleat. I can add one, but I'm told it may interfere with safe travel from stern to bow and back. Is it worth it? I'll be doing a lot of solo sailing, and I'm concerned about coming into a slip without one. I'm also wondering why Catalina doesn't have it standard, as they do on the larger models. Advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Anthony

On our Catalina 310 we installed a jib track cleat, slid it all the way aft, attached a line there and using a docking stick adapter the Admiral simply loops the seaward cleat on our slip as I slowly slide forward. Always works and I just step off the boat and tie up the rest.

Robot or human?

 

[duck21]

On our Catalina 30 we've been looping a dock line around the aft winch when docking and using that as you would a midship cleat. I'm not sure about the 315 but on our boat this slows us down and pulls us in with out issue, then we tie off on the bow and stern cleats.

 

[asalotto]

Thanks so much, everybody! I really appreciate the guidance. So, I'm likely buying the boat new from Catalina, and they will install mid-ship cleats for ~$500 extra as they build the boat. They won't cut the toe rail, but will raise the cleats above the rail. I asked Catalina about the toe rail options, and they said the toe rail is strong enough to get the boat safely against the dock, but not strong enough for long-term docking especially in any heavy-weather. I forgot to ask them about the jib track option. It seems to me, that for $500, it's a no brainer to have them install them - I can then use them for single-handed docking assistance, and for long-term spring line docking. Only downsides I've heard so far are are possible toe stubbing, and possible jib interference. I'm a bit worried about the jib interference. Any further thoughts on the prevalence of this?

 

[asalotto]

Duck21, to you ever find that the spring lines, run to the bow and stern cleats, rub against the boat while docked? Is this a concern?

 

[duck21]

I made a rudimentary drawing of my normal docking configuration.

I think the boat angle in my drawing may be a little exaggerated, but I typically dock with the bow pointed "in" to the channel to facilitate getting on/off the boat. I've never had an issue with the spring line rubbing--that may be mostly due to the mid-ship cleat on the dock being a little forward of the center of the boat. If I have a breeze from the stern the spring line pulls the boat in tight against the fenders before the line can rub on the boat.

The only thing that's a little awkward is that the port side bow cleat has two lines--if you use larger dock lines you may not have quite enough room for both to attach. I don't remember sizing on the lines I use forward, but they both fit (even though it is a little tight).

 

[DArcy]

I sailed on a First 40 that had these on the mid ship cleats. They did a good job keeping jib and spinnaker sheets from snagging.

 

[Davidasailor26]

I sailed on a First 40 that had these on the mid ship cleats. They did a good job keeping jib and spinnaker sheets from snagging.

That looks handy. Probably easier on the toes too.

 

[Sefuller]

It looks like the 315's have a slotted toe rail, we loop a soft shackle on the rail midship and run a dockline to another cleat or winch.