clam cleat question

happyhunter

New Member
Another newbie question. I recently bought a Laser 2. There are several clam cleats for various adjustments. Several of them do not hold their line very well. In fact several are so bad that I don't trust them and I put a stopper knot after the clam cleat. Many of the lines are pretty old and I guess they shrink in diameter? Is that the prob? Should I replace the lines that run thru these slipping clam cleats? How do I know what size line to buy to fit the clam cleat?

Thanks,
HH
 
take a cleat off go to the chandelry and try pieces of rope untill you find one that jams in it well for that type of cleat i usually find the one that fits it well and then go one sise up just tomake sure it gives it a good bite
 
clam cleats stink anyway... I'd look into either putting new ones on (assuming it's an older boat) or replace them with cam cleats (which requires drilling new holes and filling in the old ones since they sit sideways)
 
clam cleats stink anyway... I'd look into either putting new ones on (assuming it's an older boat) or replace them with cam cleats (which requires drilling new holes and filling in the old ones since they sit sideways)

Hi Kaiser!

I just wanted to thank you for your post here about using cam cleats as opposed to clam cleats (say that 5x fast :)

In my case, my old laser has plastic cleats on the cunningham and the traveller. Unfortunately, one screw in each cleat no longer tightens...... I thought I was going to have to do an elaborate under-deck repair but you mentioned that cam cleats use different holes......

Methinks you just saved me from;

a) buying the wrong cleats
b) an elaborate time consuming repair to fix the existing holes

I just wanted to mention that in case someone else mentions an issue with screws that no longer tighten. It seems to me installing cam cleats is a neat way to upgrade and side-step the issue at the same time :)

Quick question, for the outhaul I guess I still need to use a metal cleat for my older rig?
 
Here are a couple pics to better 'splain what I did. I coated the piece of wood with west system resin to water proof it.

I took some heavily-thickened west system and spread it on the top of the wood before putting the bolts in so that it would conform to the shape of the deck (you can see it squeezing out a bit in the second picture). I also used some of that with a syringe to fill in the old clam cleat holes.

It might not be pretty, or legal, but hopefully it will be strong. It's worked so far, anyway :)


DSC03321.jpg


DSC03322.jpg


Oh - I've refurbished several holes that would no longer grip well (like the ones for the traveller block at the stern) by drilling them out and injecting thickened epoxy (Marine-Tex will work for this too). When dry, drill a pilot hole and reinstall the screw.
 
That's an awesome repair! Obviously, it will never fail.

Too bad it's not class legal. I wish the rules allowed for reasonable repairs like the one you did. Oh well. (That's another discussion I don't want to start!)
 
Oh - I've refurbished several holes that would no longer grip well (like the ones for the traveller block at the stern) by drilling them out and injecting thickened epoxy (Marine-Tex will work for this too). When dry, drill a pilot hole and reinstall the screw.

Well, here's a question for you... each of the two cleats (the cunningham and the traveler) has one loose screw. So, what I'm thinking is this, why not just mix up some west, coat the loose screw with it, and glue it into place?

In short, use West as both a sealant and a glue :eek: :D
 
That's an awesome repair! Obviously, it will never fail.

Too bad it's not class legal. I wish the rules allowed for reasonable repairs like the one you did. Oh well. (That's another discussion I don't want to start!)
It's a legal repair IMO, but probably unnecessary.

The mounting point for these side cleats has an existing wooden backing plate which is 200 long and 75mm wide and the cleat can be located anywhere above that plate, so it would be possible to move it the cleat from the exing position. Similarly many of the other deck fittings may be moved slightly as the are tolerances on their position.

Alternatively, using a filling the hole and using a bolt with a washer on the underside will achieve the same effect without the use of the new block of wood.
 
....Similarly many of the other deck fittings may be moved slightly as the are tolerances on their position....

Alan, you brought up a really interesting point, moving the fittings...

I checked the rules in your sig file and there is a picture in there that seems to show that the traveler's clam cleat can be located anywhere from 684mm to 796mm from the rear of the boat.....

If my interpretation is correct then it would mean I could fix the problem of one of my screws being stripped just by moving the cleat a little bit backwards or forwards.

Am I correct in my thinking? That would save me from doing more work and keep my boat legal (at least in that regard). More importantly, it would be a fast repair :D
 
Correct. There is a min and max position and the whole cleat must fall within this zone.
 
Regarding coating the screw in epoxy...

I wouldn't do that for two reasons:
1) You might want to be able to remove the screw in the future, which might be difficult that way
2) The real problem is that the wood or foam that the screw goes into is in bad shape. Ideally, you would drill it out in a conical shape (getting wider as you go deeper) to remove the rotted material, tape over the hole from the bottom, and then fill the cone up with epoxy to make a strong plug that the screw can grab onto.
I haven't found a way to make the cone shape without good bottom access, but otherwise that's what I do: drill it out with a nice big bit to get to good wood, fill it back in, wait, drill a pilot, reinstall screw
 
New lines can save old clam cleats. This just worked for me on the clam cleat located on the boom for the outhaul. The old line kept slipping and slipping... not anymore though!!!

Try the lines first. It will save you drilling out rivets on the boom.

On another note-- I'm new here-- can someone tell me how to start a thread?
I have a question about how to rig and launch a laser from a dock in heavy air??? 15-20knots

Thank You
 
Regarding coating the screw in epoxy...

I wouldn't do that for two reasons:
1) You might want to be able to remove the screw in the future, which might be difficult that way
2) The real problem is that the wood or foam that the screw goes into is in bad shape.

Normally I'd agree with you but my plan is going to be replacing the plastic cleats with metal ones and in that case I don't really see myself removing them again. My preference would be knowing they are truly stuck in place and that I didn't have to revisit them :)

I'm wondering if, in my case, numbger 2 is correct. I've had the boat since I was a child and I'm pretty certain I'm the only one that's ever removed the fittings. It seems to me that I recall that I might have over-tightened the screws or just removed them too many times over the years. I'm pretty sure I took them off several times when I was younger.

If my memory is correct then I suspect the mounting board itself is OK but that I just messed up those specific holes.

What I'm really pleased about is that there is considerable tolerance for the cleat locations (according to the rules). It should be very easy to shift them just a little and get them into new holes in 'virgin' plywood while maintaining a legal boat :D
 

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