Adding Midship Cleat on Toerail....

[BrianW]

I'm considering adding midship cleats to the toerail of my H26. I plan on backing them with stainless plate. To give myself more vertical space for attaching lines, I'm considering using a spacer to raise the cleat up from the toerail surface. Are there any recommendations for material used for the spacer and how high (thick) it should be? Thanks, BrianW

 

[Terry Cox]

Hi Brian, I added midship cleats to our...

boat two years ago, and they have become invaluable. Now when I kiss the dock, it is the first line I secure until the boat settles down, then I secure the other lines. Before it was a circus even with a crew. It helps make solo docking a breezeWe mounted the cleats onto the toe rail of our 1991 P42. I ordered the cleats from Hunter Marine to match the originals. First, I cut a slot out of the aluminum rail (just the vertical part of the rail) to match the bow and stern cleat cutouts. The rail bolt holes matched the cleat holes and Hunter included bolts and nuts long enough to mount the cleat.The finished job looks original. Hunter Marine told me that the rail joint was strong enough to handle the cleat, just the same as the bow and stern cleats. No deck holes need to be drilled, or backing plates, chocks, or shims and spacers to raise the cleat above the rail.Hope this helps.Terry

 

[Larry Long]

I did it too

http://www.sailboatowners.com/upload/display.tpl?folder=73209333674&fno=17Here is the link to the Photo Forum entry for adding midship cleats to a 280. I suspect it is similat to your H26 with the moulded fiberglas toerail. It is a job well worth doing.

 

[Don s/v Tellico]

H26 toerail?

the water ballast model? There isn't a toe rail as such....just the hull to deck joint. My father added one there, drilling through and installing the cleat. There isn't much, if any room, to install a backing plate so the it leaves the cleat pretty vulnerable.Let us know what you come up with.