Deck Cleats?

ds_stanger

New Member
Any recommendations on deck cleats? Type, installation and placement?

I have a used '06 boat and am getting back into racing....but I was suprised to notice it had no deck cleats.

My current main block spins quite freely and does not have a ratchet.

Thoughts?

Thanks
 
See if you can handle the boat without deck cleats. If you sail in windy or gusty conditions you want to react fast and cleating your mainsheet can cause you to capsize. Deck cleats also tend to cleat the mainsheet when you don't want them too.

I did not have them on my 92 Laser but have them on my 99 Laser. I don't use them and they cleat when they shouldn't sometimes. I know of people that take them off of their boats.

You do want to get a decent mainsheet block though and it should have a ratchet.
 
I'm going to agree with that, I have deck cleats and used to use them, but now I hate them. First, I never cleat my sheet during a race as I'm always easing or trimming, when I hike hard, the sheet is in a location in which it will cleat itself, this doesn't help when I'm vang-sheeting. As for the main sheet block, defenitely get one that has a ratchet, I have heard many good things about the new Ronstan Orbit blocks, if I ever bust through my current block I will get one of these.

TC
 
The cleats are in exactly the position that I want to sit when in light wind and tend to dig into my thigh after a while.

I'd leave them off.
 
Oh, all this scorn for deck cleats!

I have them and I like them. I got along without them for the first two years with the boat, but my wrists were always aching. Then when I went to MME at Clearwater the year before last, I had them installed by the onsite dealer. :D They were great in the steady wind conditions of the Gulf of Mexico and they saved me from a lot of pain. Now at home, I rarely use them because of the very shifty conditions. I don't want to fly off the boat in a mystery gust and have her sail away from me. But when the wind is howling, they are great because I can use them to help pull the sheet in when I'm having strength issues. Pull in, cleat, then sheet some more. I have to stay ready to uncleat them though. I have never had them autocleat. Yes, they are a pain to sit on in light air. Nevertheless, I won't do without them.

You ought to have a ratchet on your main block, too, to save your strength to sail longer.
 
acording to the classrules, you have to have them, butt they dont say how big, so i wouldt use as small as possible. at WC and EC, some sailors boats were turned down because off the lack of mainsheet cleats.
 
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the insight. For starters I'll try a better ratchet main block and see how it goes...
 
acording to the classrules, you have to have them, butt they dont say how big, so i wouldt use as small as possible. at WC and EC, some sailors boats were turned down because off the lack of mainsheet cleats.

Sorry where in the rules brought you to this conclusion? I didn't have them at the radial worlds in LA - no problem with the international measurers there. :confused:
 
strange, cause my trainer lett my mate who went to the europeans put them on. the better i think, ok it gets in the way sometimes, but i think its easy at times.
 
acording to the classrules, you have to have them, butt they dont say how big, so i wouldt use as small as possible. at WC and EC, some sailors boats were turned down because off the lack of mainsheet cleats.

???

If I went to a big regatta and were told I had to install deck cleats, I would ask for my money back.
 

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