Easiest way to replace the original hardwood jib & spinnaker cleats?

[Vega1447]

I've measured the old (teak?) cleats and plan to replace them with
standard s/s "bar-type" cleats.

The hole centre -to- hole centre centre on the old cleats measures at
just under 35mm and s/s cleats with a 32mm hc2hc are available for a
reasonable price.

I see how I could saw the wood off to expose the bolts, then hacksaw the
bolt heads off (I'm not expecting that after 40 years they will unscrew
easily) then drive them down by hammering with a block of hardwood.

But how to gain access from below to secure the replacements?

The forward (jib?) cleats are enclosed in a very narrow coaming.

Even the aft cleats seem hard to access from below.

I'm sure a lot of people have done the job? But how?

Any advice welcome.

Thanks,

John V1447 Breakaway

 

[vega1860]

Mine came off pretty easily. I used a chisel to remove the bung over the screw head on top and had Laura climb down into the locker to hold the nut on the other end with a socket. I replaced the old cleats with ones made of Tufnol from the Wooden Boat store in Port Townsend, WA. (You can Google "Tufnol cleat" to see what I mean. The holes did not match up so I filled the old holes with Marine Tex and drilled new ones to fit. Easy afternoon job, once you find someone to crawl down into the locker for you.Wooden cleats are pretty easy to make as well if you don't want to go through filling and drilling on the coaming."Fair Winds"Chuck SV Lealea, V1860

 

[Vega1447]

Thanks Chuck.
Now all I need is a slim volunteer to climb into the locker!
John V1447 Breakaway

On 03/04/2019 21:33,
chuck@... [AlbinVega] wrote:

 

[Vega1447]

In case anyone is interested, I managed to replace all 4 cleats
yesterday. All but one were easy - though I had to empty both
cockpit lockers and climb into them.
I was gratified to find that the new cleats had *exactly* the
same hole centre to hole centre distance as the old - I had bought
them on that basis but was prepared for disappointment. I was even
able to re-use the original bolts, nuts & washers which was
good as the new bolts that came with the new cleats were not as
tight a fit.

The outlier was the forward portside cleat. I couldn't access the
nuts from within the locker as the diesel tank was in the way and
I really, really didn't want to remove it.
Instead I cut out a small piece from the "bulkhead" adjacent to
the sliding door for the portside cupboard over the stove.
This gave me access to the 2 bolts. One of the bolts (the forward
one) had no nut & washer, more below. The aft one (the
geometry is complicated) was the easier to get to, the nut came
off easily with a ratchet spanner/wrench (11 mm). When I mounted
the new cleat it was easy to fit nut & washer & tighten up
with a helper tightening the bolt from above with a screwdriver.
The forward/inboard bolt was a b*****d. I just couldn't reach the
bolt tip with my hand to hand fit the washer & nut. After an
hour trying (with a helper shouting encouragement) I gave up. The
bolt is a very tight fit and wont work loose any time soon.
On my way home it occurred to me that I should have loosened the
bolt from above & then from below (via the gap cut in the
"bulkhead") brought the nut (and washer if possible) to the tip of
the bolt cupped in the 11mm head at the end of the ratchet
spanner. The helper could then tighten the bolt from above.
Next time...
John V1447 Breakaway

On 04/04/2019 11:32, kinsella
John.Kinsella@... [AlbinVega] wrote:

 

[Vega1447]

The last post on this.I went out today planning to use a ratchet spanner/wrench to get the nut onto the tip of the bolt. No good, I just couldn't get the nut to lock onto the bolt without a helper.It eventually dawned on me that I needed to get my elbow fully aft of the small bulkhead forward of the cleat to reach forward to the bolt. I also needed to wear a shirt to protect my arm from abrasion.Geometry you see.So I removed/cut off the remaining lower part of the bulkhead then without difficulty hand tightened the washer and nut. Used the ratchet spanner to tighten the nut, secured a lock nut and used self tapping screws to secure a piece of plywood
over the rectangular hole that I cut.It will be much easier next time .... John V1447 BreakawayGet
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