Cleat backing plates?
- Thread starter rpludwig
- Start date
Sorry to hear that. My 1981 didn't have backing plates either. Now she has big chunks of G10 on all cleats (and an even bigger chunk in the bow). Hope you can remedy yours with less effort than my bow rebuild. If it's helpful, Jamestown sells a 6-pack of 12x12 1/4" G10 sheets for a reasonable price. 6 lasted me quite a few years, and I just bought my second pack.
I use Square Unistrut washers. They're cheap, heavy corrosion coating, very thick and they'll outlast any freshwater boat.
And yet another thing to look at and possibly update. One of these days boat has to start going back together.
Beware the rabbit hole temptation-- Like @AaronD I had to go there: Fore-deck Fun
well, good feedback guys, I should have specified, fortunately it is an aft cleat (accessable) and fairly eze to replace those.
The foredeck/bow is still solid so I'm not going down that rabbit hole to replace those!
I may, however put a single additional larger cleat centered in the bow, just far enough aft to access from below....any thoughts on that idea, I see others at the club who have done that on various boats....
The foredeck/bow is still solid so I'm not going down that rabbit hole to replace those!
I may, however put a single additional larger cleat centered in the bow, just far enough aft to access from below....any thoughts on that idea, I see others at the club who have done that on various boats....
Similar construct without nearly as much pain to add backing aft-- I replaced the primaries with Harken and gave them a plate while I was there. All my stock mounting points now beefed up-- and I replaced stock Nylon (or whatever material) horn cleats with Schaeffer aluminum all around. Not sure I'm a fan of the obstruction a horn cleat would add to the bow center-- not much space up there as it is and would at least for me get in the way of my jib bag and my Jib hoist and douse routine. And quite honestly working in the hole is working in the hole-- not sure that saves you any real grief vs. re-backing the existing.
Between me and Carlotta, one of us would break some toes on it and one of us would get horned up the bum.
It's funny NOW, but ...
After seeing this post I went and looked at my 2022 Capri expecting to see backing plates under all of the hardware. Surely by now they are putting backing plates under at least the cleats, winches and stanchions. Unfortunately no.. Is it that the fiberglass/core on the newer boats much better then the old days where Catalina sees no need to put backing plates under anything or is it just them saving some time/money? I think I will go about putting some kind backing plates on these items just because it won’t hurt and I like projects.
Agree, I don't get it either. Perhaps Cat sees these boats as casual trailer sailors, not tied up long term....still no excuse for no backing plates. We keep ours in a slip year round so it is subject to significant wind tides (no moon tide here), but we can lose 3' of water in a day so lines need to be adjusted accordingly, if not, significant stress on cleats which is what happened in my case....you like projects, you are definitely in the right forum!!!
(Gene, good point on the toes, bag & butt, agree, likely won't do anything to the bow for now!)
(Gene, good point on the toes, bag & butt, agree, likely won't do anything to the bow for now!)
Guys, so the fix seems to be G10 from Jamestown, thinking below and above glassed in....what do you cut/route G10 with, just thinking top to ease the edges of a "plate" under the cleat.....(have all the "normal" tools, router table, etc.)….any technical advise? And after the repair, paint color to reasonably match above....?
I hadn't thought about G10 above as well. Interesting thought - report back and post pictures as you go! Also, I think you'll want to paint it if used above deck. IIUC, it's an epoxy product and UV will weaken it over time.
G10 goes through tools in a hurry. I found carbide-grit jigsaw blades to be a real revelation. I haven't exactly quantified how many inches of cut I get per blade, but they seem to last way longer than anything else I've tried.
If I ever get the DC motor installed on my bandsaw (so I can slow down the blade) maybe I'll get a carbide or diamond-grit band for it and report back. But that's a low-priority project - don't hold your breath
After a rough cut with a jigsaw, I usually clean up and bevel the edges on the belt sander.
I should note that, as @thinwater has often said, G10 is usually overkill unless you're tapping threads. Structural FRP board is strong enough and can be cheaper if you're using a lot. But McMaster's price on structural FRP is about the same as Jamestown's on G10. So I just stock 1/4" G10 and use it everywhere.
Hope that's helpful.