Mounting midship cleats, guidance on orientation

[rgranger]

Just ordered two of these... and I'll be careful not to crimp the stay....thnx

and four of these...

 

[PaulK]

Fold-down cleats may make sense here. The other issue is where to mount them. How are you going to reach down to cleat something if it is located too far outboard or slanted away from you? Sounds like a recipe for COB each time someone leans over to cleat the line unless it’s flat on deck. We have track for our toenails, and mount a sliding padeye on them for our spring lines, which we attach by tying a bowline. Keeps the deck clear and doesn’t present anything to catch sheets. A padeye - with a good backing plate - could be mounted on your deck too.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I’ve done this on my Mac, but the lines have to wrap around the hull trapping dirt and generally making a mess. At least they did in my last slip. This also put multiple lines on one or more cleats which I didn’t like.

I’ve now got a slip off of Sarasota Bay, Fl if I can ever get back down there (current projection is right in the middle of hurricane season, so that’s probably a non starter). Net, there are many more situations to take account of than in my inland lake (e.g. tides).

Got it. In that case, it’s easier and probably much more secure to just install one big cleat on the dock midway between the forward and aft dock cleats. Then run spring lines fore and aft to the bow and stern.

 

[Tom J]

This is where I expect my stays to fail because to get it to stay in place you crimp or bend the stay. At least that is how mine was put on.

Definitely an issue if they are over tightened. There is no need to actually crimp the shroud or damage it in any way. Mine have been in place for 15 years with no issues.

 

[Mark Maulden]

I've also thought about getting a few of these.... not for spring lines but to tie bumpers... and maybe a flag halyard. I think these would make sense on a Mac 26d. The only issue I can see is to make sure they are not in a place that might catch the genoa or its sheets.

View attachment 177768

I think my issue with these is when you tighten down the U-bolt clamp, one could start pinching the wire strands under the clamp causing some high point loads on the wire. I’m not a rigger or a mechanical engineer but something tells me not to do it....(I’m a sparky..)

 

[Ron20324]

Definitely an issue if they are over tightened. There is no need to actually crimp the shroud or damage it in any way. Mine have been in place for 15 years with no issues.

... for 13 years. one on each shroud.

 

[RoyS]

Loads cannot be calculated in this application. In particular, shock loads could be substantial. Think waves causing your boat to lurch in the slip until spring line brings boat to a sudden halt. Sheet line snagging, as mentioned above, must also be considered in your plans. Good luck.

 

[Morgan donor]

Always exciting to tack in a decent wind and have your new windward jib sheets caught on your midship cleat.
So place the cleats where they're unlikley to foul the sheets under normal circumstances. Lest you find out how important backing plates are.