Spinlock PowerCleats sticky - worn? dirty?

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Jun 2, 2004
649
Hunter 23.5 Calgary, Canada
Almost two years ago I replaced my jib horn cleats with PowerCleats, as have others in this forum. Now I notice that they are very sticky and hard to operate. I have a new spare that I can easily open and close, but the ones on the boat need many times the force to get out of the fully closed or fully open position. Once "over the hump", they move OK. Has anybody had this problem with their PowerCleats? I use 7/16" jib sheets. Perhaps the extra thickness has caused wear in unfortunate places. Could it be dirt? ...RickM...
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Flush with water.

Rick: Rinse you cleats with a lot of fresh water and a high pressure nozzel on a hose. Let them dry and then spray them with McLube. They should work like new again. I recommend that you keep them rinsed out on a regular basis. McLube is a dry lube so it does NOT attract dirt. You may also consider washing your lines in a washing machine and add a dose of fabric softener.
 
Jun 2, 2004
649
Hunter 23.5 Calgary, Canada
I'll try that

I'll give the clean job a try. It's hard to tell but the internal workings seem looser than the new one that I can compare them to, but hopefully the clean/lube will work. I even have a can of McLube. As I mentioned in another post, I may downsize the jibsheets to 3/8" so I can fit a whisker pole. I'm not sure but I think this will cause less internal stress. I broke a PowerCleat last year. ...RickM...
 
Dec 5, 2003
89
Hunter 260 Whitney's Marine, Jacksonville, FL
If you have to...

I noticed that on Spinlock's website you can order the CAM mechanism without having to buy the whole cleat.
 
Jun 2, 2004
649
Hunter 23.5 Calgary, Canada
Thanks, Darren

I hadn't noticed that they sell replacement cam assemblies. I'll check my broken one to see what exactly broke. Maybe I can fix it for 30% of the price of a new one. However, I kinda think that it was the housing that broke, not the cam itself. I'll know this weekend. ...RickM...
 
Jun 2, 2004
649
Hunter 23.5 Calgary, Canada
Success, but not what we thought

First, the unit that I broke is broke for sure. Nothing wrong with the replacable cam - the little crossbar behind and above the cam on the stationary base is what broke. I took my two sticky units completely apart and cleaned, but it made little or no difference. By swapping each piece from a brand new unit into an old sticky unit, I pinpointed the problem. Then I did the reverse: put the bad piece into the otherwize brand new unit and proved that it failed. The problem piece was the U-shaped spring (S-shaped on each side of the U). It took awhile, but I finally bent them back close enough to the operating shape and now they work again, almost as smoothly as the new unit. Somehow after a year or more of use these springs seem to have elongated such that the units would hardly open and close. This seems impossible, since it seems to me that these spring are only ever under compression load. It's this spring that makes it click open and click shut. Careful - I broke one of the springs by bending it too much and then straitening it again. Fortunately, I had an extra spring from the unit that is broken. I'm going to try writing to Spinlock. Maybe they'll send me a handful of spare springs... ...RickM...
 
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