Rigging attachment question
- Thread starter WilliamJ
- Start date
It is a shroud cleat and is usually used for hoisting flag, radar reflectors and other light stuff up to the spreaders.
I use them on my boat. In attention to securing the flag halyard, I sometimes hang a fender on them for temporary storage.
Those are usually flag halyard cleats. There would likely be a small block on the underside of the spreader above.
The eyes on the spreaders look like they'd be good to rig bullet blocks for flag halyards. A radar reflector wouldn't fit between the fitting and the shrouds though. Are there others further outboard on the spreaders? You would want those set inboard far enough for the radar reflector to clear the shrouds. You may not need a radar reflector too much in Florida, however.
Usually the spreader attachment point is much further out on the spreader. Take a photo showing one whole side of your spreader.
dj
Get rid of those if you have no immediate use for them. Sheet lines and others tend to snag on them.
Never put them on the forward lower shrouds where they can snag sheets. It is safer to mount them on the inside of the middle or aft wire to lessen the snag possibility, and give a cleaner run to the flag halyard blocks on the spreaders. You can use those shroud cleats anywhere you find a need... I have one on my backstay for my national ensign with the small, upper halyard block clamped farther up the wire.(Btw, always fly the national ensign, i.e. your country's flag, from the stern or farthest aft location on the boat,... never, never from the flag halyards on the spreaders).
Also, the width size in inches of your national ensign should approximate your boat length in feet. So if you have a 30 footer, try to find a flag close to 30 inches wide. It doesn't have to be exact, just close.. 16x28 for example.
Also, the width size in inches of your national ensign should approximate your boat length in feet. So if you have a 30 footer, try to find a flag close to 30 inches wide. It doesn't have to be exact, just close.. 16x28 for example.
Add Q flag and courtesy flag for when you cross to the Bahamas, for instance. We also found placing our Wifi hotspot in a small container and hoisting it, gave us better coverage on remote islands.
Drones are really cool you can take a picture of things at the top of the mast, on the spreader, or anywhere else that is unreachable.
While they are "handy" caution in their use might be a consideration. You are attaching lines to a stanchion. The primary purpose of the stanchion is to suspend a lifeline in the air, the last hope of staying on the boat in an emergency. By design a stanchion is not a strong point on a boat. Most are weakly attached to the deck without strong backing plates.
Attaching a line to a cleat attached to the stanchion positioned a fair distance from the deck, gives the opportunity for a small bit of force on the line to demonstrate the effects of leverage on the stanchion base and fasteners in the deck. A flailing jib sheet in a 15knot breeze, hooking onto the ear of a cleat might not be pretty.
As happens often, John is right.
But I would also add that a welded SS stanchion base should hold as well as any cleat.... IF it has a large backing plate beneath and the fastening holes are thru solid resin.
Ours were constructed that way, with full size ss backing plates underneath.
And for sure, I would never tie a mooring line anywhere above that base bracing, but like securing to a shroud base it should hold just fine with no concern (except maybe chafe).
BTW, I have added double bracing struts to all of our midship stanchions -- lucky us, we have a slotted alum. toe rail to bolt to.
As happens often, John is right.
But I would also add that a welded SS stanchion base should hold as well as any cleat.... IF it has a large backing plate beneath and the fastening holes are thru solid resin.
Ours were constructed that way, with full size ss backing plates underneath.
And for sure, I would never tie a mooring line anywhere above that base bracing, but like securing to a shroud base it should hold just fine with no concern (except maybe chafe).
BTW, I have added double bracing struts to all of our midship stanchions -- lucky us, we have a slotted alum. toe rail to bolt to.
So just to be sure we are not confusing an apple for an orange.... I did say I hang bumpers from my rail cleats. I would never attach a dock line to anything other than a true cleat. Seems kind of obvious but maybe it needed to be said. The stress against the bumper is still transfered to the gunwale in exactly the same way as if you attached your bumper to any other area on the rail.