Replacing mainsheet cleat

[Dave2424]

Hey All

I have a 1991 Catalina 34 tall rig. It has the factory clam cleat for the mainsheet. I understand why a clam or cam cleat is desirable for quick disengages. However, the load on the mainsheet jams it into the cleat so firmly that it's not easily disengaged. I'm considering replacing it with the proper sized clutch. Has anyone done this? Any lookouts or warnings? I want to move forward on this as I see it as a safety issue.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

 

[Stu Jackson]

Dave, I've done just that. Plus it gives you a much much better lead angle to the winch. I keep the sheetstopper open except when the mainsail is furled. The clam cleat is a joke. A cam cleat would have the same issues. Run the mainsheet twice around the winch and you're done.

You're welcome to join us on our C34 Message Board, as well as posting here, too.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/board,11.0.html

 

[Dave2424]

Dave, I've done just that. Plus it gives you a much much better lead angle to the winch. I keep the sheetstopper open except when the mainsail is furled. The clam cleat is a joke. A cam cleat would have the same issues. Run the mainsheet twice around the winch and you're done.

You're welcome to join us on our C34 Message Board, as well as posting here, too.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/board,11.0.html

Thanks, Stu. Did you match it w the existing clutches or go rogue?

 

[Stephen K]

I replaced my 2 clam cleats with rope clutches this past week. Already I can tell that it was a great improvement. I went with 2 new single Garhauer clutches..they look and function great.

The holes did not match, so I used one existing hole and drilled and tapped for the new hole. I filled the old "unused hole" with epoxy. Good luck...you will be happy with this upgrade.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Thanks, Stu. Did you match it w the existing clutches or go rogue?

I used a Spinlock, used one of the old clam cleat holes and drilled another for the second, sealed the old hole. The rest of what i have is Garhauer, still working just fine. The Spinlock is a lower profile and works great being inboard of the other starboard clutches.

 

[Dave2424]

Thanks, guys. I'll proceed.

Cheers!

 

[Ken Juul]

Re using the clam cleat

I always thought it was called a Jam cleat...anyway

I was suggested somewhere, probably the C34 forum to move the removed cleat to the mast. That way you can pull the main up, hold with the cleat while you move to the cockpit to pull the slack out halyard prior to using the winch to do the final tensioning. Once tension is on the halyard it should pop out of the cleat and run free.

 

[Dave2424]

Heck of an idea!

 

[FastOlson]

Boom position and # of parts...

IIRC your main sheet on the C-34 is mid-boom. If so, the loads are really high.
We have a 6 to 1 main sheet on our boat with sheeting almost at the end of the boom, and a Harken cam cleat works fine.
I wonder if you are sailing in strong-enough winds that you should consider adding another part or two to the purchase?


LB

 

[mortyd]

first time i disagree with stu. i think you're on the right track for the right reason and guess you have a poor cam cleat. garhauer has really good ones for decent prices. also, do you know the correct way to unload a cam cleat under load? most need an upward tug; my garhauers sure do.

 

[mortyd]

and, stu, on my 91 catalina 30 the mainsheet(garhauer) is run through a deck organizer and along the cabin roof into the cockpit, so wheter a cluth or cleat is on the cabin top won't change any lead angle.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Well, morty, not true. The CLAM cleat that comes with almost every Catalina, even new ones, is a joke. And even with a cam cleat, you end up needing two hands to get a good fairlead to the winch, since the mainsheet comes in under the traveler and is just too high to make the base of the cabintop winch. The advantage of the sheetstopper (or clutch) is that the outlet of the sheetstopper always gives the same good lead to the base of the winch.

Once you open the sheetstopper, the lead angle to the winch is always the same, whereas with even a cam cleat, you end up using the cam cleat to hold the mainsheet, and when you pop it, you have to hold the mainsheet. With a sheetstopper, you ONLY need to use the winch to work the mainsheet. Two wraps works for us.

I'll go dig out some photos to show everyone.

It's why I made the change.

 

[Stu Jackson]

mortyd, try Reply #1, here: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,860.0.html

Look closely at the inboard sheetstopper and then picture the lead to the winch. It's a heck of a lot better than a cam or clam cleat, and it's LOWER on the winch, which makes for a perfect fairlead.

If ya think about it, is completely AVOIDS the need for two handed operation of the mainsheet to make it have a fairlead to the winch. I got tired of that nonsense right away when we bought our boat in 1998.

 

[mortyd]

yup, but my boat is rigged slightly differently. in any event, i believe the mainsheet should be on a cam cleat for quick release and i have no problems whatever with this arrangement. i have re-rigged the boat with complete garhauer - mainsheet, traveler, cleats and clutches (halyrards) - and they are much better than the original equipment from catalina. p.s, when i'm sailing, i always leave a wrap on the free jib winch but none on the main winch, just the cam cleat on the main. good grip, easy release.

 

[Scotty C-M]

I also have a Spinlock sheetstopper (clutch) for the mainsheet. I leave it open and use the winch for sheet control. It presents a very safe and easy management system. Cam cleats can be awkward to release and are all or nothing. The winch makes a convenient snubbing block to let out the main a bit at a time. For me the clutch is a superior arrangement. By the way, I'm also in the process of putting a cam cleat on my mast, as you described. I single-hand a lot and I think (hope) that this will make raising the main a bit easier.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Why bother using the mainsheet at all?

It's harder to winch in if let out in a gust.

That's what travelers and pinching up are for.

 

[thinwater]

A clutch can be used between the load and the winch. They release under load. That is the arrangement on my current boat, with cam cleats for the tailing end. The cams work fine too, as they never see more than a hand -tension load, not matter how tightly the winch has been cranked.

On my last 2 boats, the main sheet was an 8:1 tackle and a winch was not used; the cam cleat worked fine.

A cam cleat should ONLY be used on hand tensioned lines or on the tailing end of a winched line. If Catalina is placing them on a main sheet that is winched, that's a plain and simple misapplication of the the product.

 

[Dave2424]

Well, it is critical for changing sail shape...

 

[Dave2424]

Sorry. New to the forum. I meant this in response to Stu's "why use the mainsheet?"

 

[mortyd]

stu, my boat and yours are apparently rigged differently enough that i get a good angle to the cam cleat, which has long been replaced by a good garhauer. i can see from your pix that the cabin top on your boat and the one on my boat look like two different boats, which they are. catalina even kept changing how 30's were rigged, but mine is a very late one.