What size cleat for foredeck on 30' 8500 lb. sloop?

[Sailon1]

Greetings, and thanks for the many helpful and appreciated responses to previous questions. Here's another one:

I'm replacing smaller cleats with larger, stronger ones to be used for dock lines
and probably for anchor snubbers. I notice that some of the cleats have screw holes in the feet, and some have the holes that go through the entire cleat--looks like a more secure attachment. Suggestions?

I'm also looking at using marine Locktite for filling holes and for the base of the cleat. What about first drilling larger holes in the deck, filling with epoxy, and then drilling the cleat hole--helps reduce water intrusion. Is this a good idea, or will the Locktite suffice?

Thanks again!

[nelly]

You need to drill and fill with epoxy if you have a cored deck.

For sealant between the deck and the cleat butyl tape is awesome and easy to work with.

[Sailon1]

Thank you, exactly the info that I needed for installing.

Any info on cleat size? I see a few pairs on eBay, 8 in. cleats with about
1 1/2 in. clearance underneath.

[Cheechako]

I like 8" cleats, they have enough room for sturdy lines or snubber etc. I kinda like the bolt through ones also, but I have used many Herreschoff style bronze/chrome or 316 SS. Those often seem to have little edge margin where the bolts go through the feet though. My gut says not as strong as they look. ... and I have seen a broken one in the past.

The other advantage of the two bolt style is if your cleats are on the deck edge next to the toe rail, they may work on the solid glass portion out there. (many boats end the core a few inches from the toerail and solid glass out at the hull to deck connection)

[RainDog]

Some food for thought: https://www.boatus.org/findings/16/

[Cheechako]

Good find Raindog!
"The test revealed that cleat design is at least as important as cleat material in affecting what breaks, and at what loads. Four-hole cleats were more likely to suffer failure of the feet, legs or body, while two-hole cleats suffered fastener failures 19 out of 20 times. We believe this is because the bolts in two-hole cleats are fastened directly through the center of the cleat, adding strength to the entire assembly. It seems the load applied perpendicular to the axis of the bolts in two-hole cleats causes the fasteners to shear off at the base.

With four-hole cleats, feet failed 10 times in 24 pulls (42%). The feet failed consistently on half the four hole cleats, and they failed under smaller loads than every other cleat except the nylon.

[deblen]

My cleats are very close to my chocks. I have had very little (negligible) chafe at the chock over the years.
Could it be that there is negligible stretch movement of the line from cleat to chock exit?
Works for me. / Len

[Singularity]

Another thread on this subject perhaps worthy of review.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tc-184044.html

From the thread above, I really like Dockhead's statement, even if it seems like overkill:
"In my opinion, you should be able to lift the whole boat out of the water by the cleats without a second thought."

What I don't like about most all the cleat systems that I've seen is that the fasteners are typically fully threaded with little/no shank. Either bad engineering requiring larger diameter fasteners to get adequate sheer strength, or, TLAR engineering resulting in failures of the fastener. FWIW I like the 2-bolt type cleats. Maybe like an anchor...the larger the better until you start getting too many funny looks.

[a64pilot]

First don’t get them off of EBay. Buy from a reputable manufacturer, don’t try to save money here.
Then I can’t see how you can go too big or too strong, I’d put the biggest on that will fit.
Also what is very important is the backing plates that go underneath the hull, you want them to be thick and as big as will fit too.
Sometimes it’s not the cleat that fails, but the hull it’s attached to

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

First don’t get them off of EBay. Buy from a reputable manufacturer, don’t try to save money here.
Then I can’t see how you can go too big or too strong, I’d put the biggest on that will fit.
Also what is very important is the backing plates that go underneath the hull, you want them to be thick and as big as will fit too.
Sometimes it’s not the cleat that fails, but the hull it’s attached to

Exactly this. Bigger is always better. The gigantic cleats on my boat are one of the things I particularly like about it.

[dfelsent]

I recall a 50 ft boat that was torn off its mooring in a bad northeaster a few decades ago. It was wrecked on the rocks. The mooring guy hired a diver to pull up and document the remnants of the mooring. The pennants were intact as well as the bow, pulpit, and cleats. They just were not attached to the rest of the boat.
It’s more than backing plates and cleats that matter.
Storms sometimes need tanks to survive.

Btw that wreck caused blackouts because the rig shorted power lines on the shore.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by deblen

My cleats are very close to my chocks. I have had very little (negligible) chafe at the chock over the years.
Could it be that there is negligible stretch movement of the line from cleat to chock exit?
Works for me. / Len

Absolutely!

[sailing_gal]

IMO, bigger is better. But, as long as you are replacing them, if it is at all possible to get to the deck below- back-plate them. Especially bow cleats- since if you ever need a tow, that is where that rope will go. I've seen cleats ripped out of boats.

[Paul Kelly]

My Westerly Storm 33 has four cleats on each side (the boat standard fit-out) and an anchor post has been added to the foredeck (see picture), which I love.

It's bolted through the deck and I tie my mooring lines and pick up buoy securely to it, so they cannot come off.

[gulfcoastsailor]

The strength of the cleat is only as strong as the backing plate. Don't cheat on that!!!