Aft hiking strap bracket use a dowel?

chemprof

Member
I know the Catalina install instructions list wood dowels for the two forward straps, but don't show a third dowel for the aft strap bracket. My boat has three, but the aft strap is very difficult to get tight enough for what I like, and I'm thinking this dowel may be not helping. Do any of you have tricks for tightening the aft strap? ... do you have the third dowel?

Thanks -- Edward
 
Hi Edward: Just so happens I removed hiking straps from my boat today (I'm taking them to local marine canvas place to be re-covered tomorrow) and in addition to use of two wood dowels for each of forward attachments there was also a wood dowel in place for aft attachment. The aft attachment seems very secure using this method in the case of my boat - it was a little hard for me to undo in the course of removing straps. I think the trick to setting this aft attachment so that it's secure and doesn't slip is in the way hiking strap is threaded through slits of aft metal mounting plate such that loop extends through aft-most slit of that plate into which dowel is inserted then strap is pulled tight securing dowel within loop of strap against metal mounting plate. I'm certainly no expert as I'm actually just becoming acquainted with this 1992 mod-II I just purchased. Nevertheless, this is what I observed today which seems related to your question. Hope this helps, Glenn
 
Hi Glenn,

Thanks for your reply. I suspected the aft bracket had a dowel too since Catalina sells the replacement straps with three dowels. When I make that first loop with the dowel tight enough for hiking, then the strap hinders it's own threading back through the other two slits, so the the net result is you have to loosen the dowel loop to complete the threading. That (on my boat at least) makes it impossible to cinch the strap tight since the dowel has so much resistance that the strap doesn't slip in order to tighten.

I suppose that makes sense really, since if it were easy to cinch up, then it would be easy to loosen, as in the case where you were hiked out! Duh!

Thanks again, Edward
 
Hi Ed: I just reinstalled my hiking straps yesterday after having taken them to local marine place to be re-covered and re-sewn. I think I managed to get them back in place secured in the manner used when I removed them ;-) Cheers, Glenn
 

Back
Top