Toe Rail Tie Off

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Bad Obsession

Bad Obsession

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May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
I am getting ready to put my boat into a wet slip this year. I don't have any cleats towards the middle of my boat and I have been thinking about how to tie the side ropes off to the boat. I had considered using the winches and running the line from there and that is a possibility. One other thing that I am considering is using caribeaners and attaching the middle rope to the toe rail. I have a metal toe rail that runs the length of my boat. My question is if that is a safe thing to do? How much weight can the toe rail take and not be damaged? If anyone else has any ideas I would be glad to hear them.
 
Ed Schenck

Ed Schenck

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Jun 2, 2004
5,802
Hunter 37-cutter, '79 41 23' 30"N 82 33' 20"W--------Huron, OH
Spring lines.

I have always tied off the spring lines to the toerail. I use old line and tie directly through the holes. As you can imagine this tears up a rope in a hurry. Those holes have very sharp edges. And I could not do this if there was a lot of boat motion. This season I will bolt one cleat to the inside of the strbrd and port rails right about amidship. And yes, I know this is not the proper tiedown point for spring lines. But for me cheap and simple is better than the Rousmaniere way.
 
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Gord May

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Jun 4, 2004
629
Sailboat - 48N x 89W
Backed

As ,ong as your toe-rail is fastened with through-bolts AND proper backing plates, it should be strong enough to accept spring lines. Goto page 36: http://www.csjohnson.com/catalogs/2005_johnson_marine.pdf
 
B

Bill Edmundson

Tie Off

I put stainless clevises through the toe rail to protect the ropes. Held fine through that little storm we had last fall. I think they called it "Ivan".
 
David W

David W

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Jun 1, 2004
412
Catalina 22 Victoria BC
What we did

was to purchase a toe rail folding cleat made by CJ Johnson retailed by West Marine. It folds down when not in use, is mega stout and take a 1/2" dock line with ease. I step off the rail at the end of the finger, take a bight around the cleat and gradually bring her to a stop. By the way...what is the "Rousmaniere way"? David
 
Terry Cox

Terry Cox

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Dec 25, 2000
5,912
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Our 1991 P42 did not have midship cleats...

They are really needed for this size boat so I added them. Ordered two from Hunter Marine ($35 each) the same kind they used for the bow and stern. I cut a slot out of the toe rail just like Hunter did. Turned out great and what a difference it makes when docking short handed. Terry
 
B

Bill Cooper

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Jun 1, 2004
2
- - Alameda, CA
toe rail mounted folding padeye

Our B-311 has no cleat amidships either, and I found it necessary to add a toe-rail mounted folding padeye (one on each side) to accomodate our spring lines. We bought ours through sailnet and at a significant savings. It is made by Wichard, and for the size of our boat, I found the smaller of the two offered to be quite sufficient. I recommend it.
 
J

Jeff

What Ours Looks Like

The previous owner of our H33.5 added mid ship cleats of the same size used fore and aft. Very handy to have. I have attached a picture for reference. Jeff
 
jk kudera

jk kudera

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Dec 2, 2003
209
Hunter 34 Forked River, NJ
Another way

is purchase cleats you slide to position on the genoa track.
 
K

Kevin B

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May 22, 2004
130
Other CS27 Toronto
Anchor shackles

Yes it should be safe to tie to a metal, slotted toe rail. Around my club a lot of owners attach a large shackle, such as a galvanized anchor shackle, to the toe rail and either tie off to it or snap on with a snap shackle on the end of the spring line. Even if you eventually want to add a cleat the above system helps you decide where best to locate it. Kevin
 
S

s sauer

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Jun 4, 2004
844
Hunter 28.5 Tolchester, MD
Snatch Blocks

Typically a toe rail is the attachment point for snatch blocks to be moved fore and aft to trim or control a large Genoa or Spinnaker, so it can obviously take the load of a spring line. If you were to run the spring line thru a snatch block and back to a cockpit winch, the snatch block would be less likely to chafe the line and the fore and aft position of the boat could be adjusted from the cockpit.
 
S

steven f.

agree with Bill from AL.

I totally agree with Bill. I have an S2 and ustied her off in the center of my canal. Several of the spring lines were secured to the old metal toe rail using shackles to give them a round hole to slid through. The eye of hurricane Charley passed over our house and boat. Other than cosmetic damage the boat held in place and in fact I didn't even loose a single line due to chaffing. Now my daily tie off consists of three lines, one bow, one stern and a spring line that runs between two pilings tied to the boat at the center of the toe rail. Might not be what the books say to do but it works for me in my situation. Long story short, if your toe rail is a solid tough rail than hell yeah you can tie off to it, why not?
 
R

Roy Mosteller

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Jun 3, 2004
95
Spring Cleat Canada

On page 3 of the Spring/Summer 2000 issue of Knot Line (Publication of Hunter Marine) is an ad for Spring Cleat Canada, 467 Victoria Ave, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3Y 2R3 (phone: 514-931-1959). I installed two of their spring cleats on my H-30T (1991) and have found them to be everything they are advertised to be. Installation time about 5 minutes each. Highly recommend them if they are still available as they are just what you are looking for.
 
A

Al

Another option

I faced the same issue on my boat and found what I consider to be a very nice looking spring cleat by the English company Holt Allen. They simply bolt to the alumnimum toe rqail. They had to be special ordered, but I think they were worth the wait (and the bucks). I don't have a photo, but here's a link to the manufacturer's catalog.
 
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