Spinlock Powercleats!
I learned about the Powercleats a few years ago right here from George and Rick and others and they are the best thing I've done to my boat (followed by the furler and the stern rail seats). I haven't used cam cleats for jib sheets, but have one for the furling line and of course the mainsheet. I'm sure the Powercleats are easier to use. I can open and close them from anywhere in the cockpit, including sitting on the stern rail seats, all with the flick of a wrist. They release easier under load because the opening force is upwards. A downward force locks it again. A cam cleat has to be pulled backwards and then up to release, and backwards and down to lock. The difference is not trivial. The flicking wrist motion is a whipping motion, similar to what you do in a locker room with a wet towel aimed at somebody's bare butt. That gives the upward or downward forces to operate the Powercleat. Spinlock has improved the Powercleats with a new model (PXR0810), but the bolt spacing is further apart than the holes that we have for the existing horn cleats. Too bad, because the new design seems much more robust. The new ones are for a max line diameter of 3/8"; the older Powercleats that we all have go up to 7/16". I downsized my jib sheets from 7/16 to 3/8 in order to use a Forespar whisker pole. With the lighter sheets, I found I have to be more precise (or flick harder) with the wrist motion to operate the cleat. ...RickM...
I learned about the Powercleats a few years ago right here from George and Rick and others and they are the best thing I've done to my boat (followed by the furler and the stern rail seats). I haven't used cam cleats for jib sheets, but have one for the furling line and of course the mainsheet. I'm sure the Powercleats are easier to use. I can open and close them from anywhere in the cockpit, including sitting on the stern rail seats, all with the flick of a wrist. They release easier under load because the opening force is upwards. A downward force locks it again. A cam cleat has to be pulled backwards and then up to release, and backwards and down to lock. The difference is not trivial. The flicking wrist motion is a whipping motion, similar to what you do in a locker room with a wet towel aimed at somebody's bare butt. That gives the upward or downward forces to operate the Powercleat. Spinlock has improved the Powercleats with a new model (PXR0810), but the bolt spacing is further apart than the holes that we have for the existing horn cleats. Too bad, because the new design seems much more robust. The new ones are for a max line diameter of 3/8"; the older Powercleats that we all have go up to 7/16". I downsized my jib sheets from 7/16 to 3/8 in order to use a Forespar whisker pole. With the lighter sheets, I found I have to be more precise (or flick harder) with the wrist motion to operate the cleat. ...RickM...
