backing plates for mainsheet cleats

J

John Gilmour

Member
The old Laser I'm fixing up no longer has the wood backing plates needed to mount mainsheet cleats on the deck. Is there any way to replace them or mount the cleats other than cutting holes in the deck? I have one inspection port installed near the mast tube, but no one has arms long enough to reach from it to the forward end of the cockpit.
 
I'd ask myself the following:

Do I really need need mainsheet cleats. If I'm not doing races longer then 45 mins, probably not.

If I do need them, either a combo of epoxy on the fasteners and 3M 5200 on the cleat base/deck or some of the more common wallboard fastening systems ( http://www.boltdepot.com/anchoring-products.aspx ) should do the trick regardless if there is a backing plate or not.

The load on the fasteners is in shear, and it's not that much.
 
Look in West Marine under "stainless steel togglers". Unfortunately the smallest screw size is 10-24. I have used them several times on my powerboat and they work great. They are expensive but not as much as an inspection port.
 
I'm curious to why you think the backup "plates" are no longer there. They are not plates per say but pieces of 3/4" marine plywood glassed into the underside of the deck. If you don't have inspection ports how can you tell they don't exist?
 
I think they are gone because (1) it is too fast drilling through the deck, and (2) no wood comes out when I drill through the deck.

I just followed 49208's advice above. Thanks everyone. I'll find out in a few days if it works.
 
Well it's not like they are 9 inches thick, when I removed the cleats from my boat, it was pretty thin down there also. And I had hatches near my trunk, so I could check.

Also, if you only have a hatch near the mast, how would they be removed? I just don't see that happening. They're there
 
I did not know that the plates are glassed in, which, I'll admit, reduces the likelihood that they could drop off. I thought they were just glued on. The cleats are now attached with 3m 5200 and screwed in as well, so they should be there forever, esp. if the wood is there.
 
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