Rope Clutches

[arlouper]

This will seem remedial, I'm sure, but I don't know what rope clutches do. Do they do the same thing as cam cleats? As traditional cleats? Are they stronger than cam cleats? They secure a line or they... i don't even know.

Every sheet and halyard on my C22 is secured with a cam cleat, and some downhauls and outhauls are secured with traditional cleats, however I have seen similarly sized boats that use rope clutches for the halyards and I don't know the advantage.

I appreciate that for most running rigging the traditional cleat is an anachronism so I guess what I'm asking is if rope clutches are used to secure a line and cam cleats are used to secure a line, why would I use a rope clutch over a cam cleat?

Again, I'm sure this must be obvious, but I've been off the water for decades and the google machine doesn't seem to have the answer.

 

[hvbaker]

Essentially the same but stronger than cam cleats.

 

[Nahart51]

I once had a Catalina 22 with clutches everywhere. My conclusion is:
Clutches good for halyards, bad for sheets.

In an emergency, too hard to release sheets,
Very convenient for halyards and other rigging from the mast area. You can pull the line tight by just pulling on the line. A cam cleat or jam cleat would be a good compromise.
Also, have you priced clutches?

 

[arlouper]

thanks, kind of what I was expecting to hear.

re: pricing, yes, which was a component of my confusion. If they're doing the same work, but one is doing it at a fraction of the cost, do I need to change? No. The answer is no.

Thanks again.