I thought I have seen it all…and then this.

[BlowMeAway]

What should we call it on a sailboat? Dock line windlass? Millennial Grabber? Flip flop eater? Big bucks foot eater…just curious what y’all think?

Is this worth the ?

In this video, we unveil the incredible power of the Electric-Powered Cleat as it effortlessly pulls in ropes and elevates deck operations to a whole new lev...

youtube.com

 

[Tally Ho]

Quite the gimmic… more money than….

Wish I could afford those on my boat…I wouldn’t put them on, but I wish I had the $$$


Greg

 

[kappykaplan]

An electric-powered cleat - what will they think of next? Don't believe I want one! Tks for sharing.

 

[dlochner]

What will they think of next? I suppose if you own one of those floating multi-story condo cats a powered cleat would helpful when docking.

Wonder what they said about electric winches.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Millennial Grabber?

Maybe I resemble that remark but I don’t hate the idea. I wouldn’t spend my own 4 boat bucks on it, but if someone were so inclined and thought it would get them on the water more often not having to worry about pulling back up to the dock I don’t think I’d begrudge them. At least if it breaks it’s still a perfectly functional cleat.

Now something I’m sure isn’t at all controversial is the poor execution of that cleat hitch. No one ever disagrees on that.

 

[BigEasy]

Appears to be a waste of time & money. Could have made that cleat hitch in much less time than the electric version.

 

[dLj]

A fundamental problem is that the winch direction needs to be in both directions. It depends upon which direction the line is coming from which side of the clear it needs to lead into. Hence you would need both clockwise and counter-clockwise capabilities. Not that adding that in would convince me of actual utility....

dj

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I am concerned that someone’s hand could accidentally get caught between the cleat and line while it is on with serious injury

 

[justsomeguy]

Wonder what they said about electric winches.

They'd probably write it up like this, replete with unnecessary capitalization: "In this video, we unveil the incredible power of the Electric-Powered Winch!"

Meh, I wouldn't have one of those cleats.

 

[dLj]

I am concerned that someone’s hand could accidentally get caught between the cleat and line while it is on with serious injury

I don't think safety was ever on their mind...

dj

 

[Davidasailor26]

I don’t hate the idea... At least if it breaks it’s still a perfectly functional cleat.

Much as I usually like new technology, I changed my mind. I was docking yesterday and noticed how much I like to take the bitter end of the line over the horn and just pull in until it’s at the right length. To do that I want to be able to have the line slide along the cleat, and I want to do it standing at any angle, not with my feet stuck in a specific spot to reach a button. That just wouldn’t be possible with this design.

 

[capta]

In a situation where I needed power on a dock line, I always ran the line to one of my ST-65 electric jib sheet winches. They could pull her up to the dock no matter how strong the wind and current.
However, that looks like a nice tool for docking and possibly sheets or guys when sailing, too. I just wish they'd chosen someone who actually knew the proper way to secure a line on a cleat.

 

[LloydB]

The given example seems backwards to me because the guy seems to be cleating off a slack line. Probably because I am easily confused by the Internet.

 

[PaulK]

I am concerned that someone’s hand could accidentally get caught between the cleat and line while it is on with serious injury

If that happened you'd simply do a quick handstand to get your foot off the "on" button, and the winching would stop. You'd then be able to loosen the line with your other hand. With your hands free you would put your feet down, being careful they didn't land on the "on" button.

 

[PaulK]

I just wish they'd chosen someone who actually knew the proper way to secure a line on a cleat.

Someone who knows the proper way to secure a line on a cleat probably doesn't need this equipment. Does it come with different sized "jaws" on the spindle for different sized lines? It looks like the line needs to fit the jaws in order for it to work properly.

 

[stickinthemud57]

All we need on a sailboat - one more thing to explain to the crew and one more thing to fail.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@PaulK

I use to be an investigator for insurance companies investigating many cases involving injuries and deaths. I saw the potential for an immature sailor or visitor hurting themselves with an electric cleats

 

[WayneH]

Me? I was thinking about all the extra weight on the boat. 4 cleats with motors, heavy electric cable to each motor, probably another battery to power them all and ACRs to charge the batteries. Now your waterline is longer.

 

[jssailem]

Looks to me like it is installed on a big Catamaran. All that weight and systems hardware is what their market wants.