Gluing cleats

stanj

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Oct 9, 2017
5
Catalina 22 Toronto
The cleats on my Catalina 22 on the bow used for my mooring lines have worked loose. I plan on removing them in the spring and gluing them down. Any suggestions as to the best type of glue to use? Thanks stanj
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Bad idea. You are liable to pull a chunk of gelcoat off. They should be installed with machine screws and backing plates. To remove them you have to get behind them anyway.
 
Nov 26, 2012
1,653
Hunter 34 Berkeley
That will only damage the gel coat. They should not be working loose. Are the bolts damaged? Assuming they are not damaged use the blue lock tite on the bolts and bolt them down.
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
Use BedIT or 4200. Most of us will recommend BedIT because it is so much easier to work with and remove in the future. Remove the cleat, countersink the holes from the outside, clean up the hole (I dab BedIT on the hole to collect the dust), wrap the underside of the screw head and about 1/4" of of the exposed threads closest to the cleat (sealing screw threads to bottom of cleat), reinstall and remove excess BedIT with a razor blade.

Make sure you use proper backing plates. Fender washers are typically very thin. I actually prefer non-stainless washers because rust is a sign that the hardware needs to be resealed. There will be many opinions on that. Don't forget to use nylon lock nuts. I've used BedIT in a pinch to keep nuts from coming loose. Takes some work to remove in the future though

 
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