Midship cleats

[MHardy]

I want to install midship cleats on my 16. Has anyone done this? If so, any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[Pacman]

Great idea!

I have midship cleats on my Contessa 26 and they are useful for single-line docking and for holding fender boards, etc.

Recently I picked up some old ABI bronze cleats and plan  to use them to replace the plastic ones on my C 16, including addition of midship cleats.

They will go on the side decks just behind the shrouds.

[JTMeissner]

MHardy, my 16 came with extra cleats installed.  You can see them best on an old photo in the driveway, along the side of the cockpit.  I have used them for docking as mentioned by Pacman, but I find them somewhat misplaced for that duty.  They are too far back to be on the widest part of the beam, so a bumper must be quite large to prevent rubbing on some docks.  Even if I then put a bumper hanging off the shroud, the wide beam can sometimes still rub.  I find that hanging a bumper from the jib sheet cleat and the side cleat is closer to the widest section which then minimizes this. 

Additionally, these cleats sometimes interfere with the genoa sheets as they run along the side of the boat along the cockpit, so you may want to see about the kind that drop down so lines can't get fouled. 



You can just see the bumper lines on the cleat and shroud in the below picture.  If there wasn't the tall side on the dock (imagine just the dock deck without side planking), the bumper would not actually prevent rubbing because it would be too low, allowing the boat and dock rub rails to hang up when boarding. 


If you have genoa tracks along the coaming or side, there are track cleats that would give you an adjustable option.  A cleat on the coaming would give you some elevation that may be helpful.

-Justin

[MHardy]

Thanks for the replies. About even with the rear porthole is where I'm thinking they belong. Do I just use nuts, bolts, a backplate and 5200?

[Pacman]

Backing plate, definitely.  However, I would use Boat Life sealant rather than 3M 5200 adhesive.

[capt_nemo]

Midship cleats are quite useful and can serve a number of purposes in addition to securing dock or spring lines.

Be sure to carefully site the cleats at or near the point of maximum beam and about midway between the bow and stern cleats. You may have to compromise in selecting the final position.

The photo below shows where I located and installed midship cleats on my Sun Cat.



Locating them included how I would maneuver around them at dockside or when going forward while underway. The next two photos show how I would place my feet when leaving the cockpit and moving forward.





And finally, be sure to use substantial backing plates such as the aluminum plate shown in this photo.



Hope this is helpful and provides food for thought.

capt_nemo