Mid-ship cleat

[jroy1111]

Hi! New owners of a 1999 Macgregor 26x here again.
Has anyone installed mid-ships cleats on their 26x for ease of using a spring line for docking?

 

[Beija Flor]

Yes, I have - and I probably over-engineered the installation, but I'm happy.

I actually replaced my bow and stern cleats as well - it was an over-winter project, and frankly I believe that strong cleats are cheap insurance. I went with 8" stainless-steel "yacht cleats" from BosunSupplies.com - and for the bow and stern cleats, I took their recommendation and used 3/4" marine plywood backing plates between the under-deck and the fender washers. (The midship cleats were an exception; there wasn't room for a 3/4" backing. BosunSupplies recommends wood because it has some "give".)

If your Mac was built after (I think it's) May 1999, the deck was braced with a sort of "corrugated" lay-up of fiberglass cored with open-cell foam. This is much less worry than a balsa core, because you don't have to drill-and-fill to protect the balsa.

I put my port cleat just inside the molded "toe rail" and a bit forward of the hand-rail socket ... used a zip-saw to cut a hole in the headliner, peeled that off, and drilled for my cleats. I put a short "riser" of StarBoard under the feet of the cleat ... I used 8-inch 'yacht cleats' from BosunSupplies.com, and they weren't quite as high as I wanted to clear that "toe rail". (I pre-drilled the risers and stuck them down with 5200, then bolted down the cleats to hold this in place.)

Below the deck, I used a 1/4" piece of StarBoard and a whale of a lot of 5200 to "even out" the chopped-out corrugations ... and the largest fender washers I could find, for right under the lock-nuts.

Next day, I bedded the cleats with LifeCalk and pulled them down "just a little" till the caulk was cured - then I cranked 'em down tight. I covered the holes with varnished plywood plates, routed out underneath to make room for the bolts.

I also added some "rub strakes" of 3/4" stainless steel rub-rail, glued down with 5200, to protect the lines and the "toerail".

A few weeks later, I made a mistake trailering-home from a day on the water. I left a 3/8" nylon dock line tied to the heavy steel railing beside the ramp - and broke the line ...

(Notice the blue marks on the fiberglass to the left of the cleat.)

"Priceless!" :dance:

 

[Capt. Kermie]

Spring lines or Breast line?

Has anyone installed mid-ships cleats on their 26x for ease of using a spring line for docking?

Spring lines run either forward from the stern cleat or aft from the bow cleat to prevent fore & aft movement of the boat. A line on a cleat amidships is a breast line to hold the beam of the boat to the dock. I bought a couple of those SS portable cleats that slide onto the jib/genoa tracks and lock in place. I got them from the store on this site. If you put one in the aft position of the jib track it will be aprox amidships. I use this cleat for docking and undocking as it provides me with a line to jump off with and quickly secure until I get all the other lines in place, ditto for getting under way, it is the last line I undo then shove off with it in hand, makes for easy docking and undocking. The track cleat is the easiest method for installing a cleat amidships and it holds just fine, I have been using it for six years now and really like it.

 

[hiho_doug]

Great info & thanks for the detail!!!

 

[hiho_doug]

Thanks for the info here!!

Spring lines run either forward from the stern cleat or aft from the bow cleat to prevent fore & aft movement of the boat. A line on a cleat amidships is a breast line to hold the beam of the boat to the dock. I bought a couple of those SS portable cleats that slide onto the jib/genoa tracks and lock in place. I got them from the store on this site. If you put one in the aft position of the jib track it will be aprox amidships. I use this cleat for docking and undocking as it provides me with a line to jump off with and quickly secure until I get all the other lines in place, ditto for getting under way, it is the last line I undo then shove off with it in hand, makes for easy docking and undocking. The track cleat is the easiest method for installing a cleat amidships and it holds just fine, I have been using it for six years now and really like it.