Hiking strap installation advice

P

Paul_D

Member
I need to add a hiking strap to my late 80's fish. I have looked at the faq's and tips and techniques. I want to avoid the nut and bolt through the lip of the cubby. Has anyone put an inspection port in the cubby before. Either in the "floor" or side?

I want to attach the fore end of the strap low in the cockpit so it is not in the way when the kids sail. and then bunge to the block to get it up. What are some sources for the stainless plates that I would need for the fore connection to the front of the cockpit? Restaurant supply? West Marine?

Thanks,

Paul
 
Paul_D said:
I need to add a hiking strap to my late 80's fish. I have looked at the faq's and tips and techniques. I want to avoid the nut and bolt through the lip of the cubby. Has anyone put an inspection port in the cubby before. Either in the "floor" or side?

I want to attach the fore end of the strap low in the cockpit so it is not in the way when the kids sail. and then bunge to the block to get it up. What are some sources for the stainless plates that I would need for the fore connection to the front of the cockpit? Restaurant supply? West Marine?

Thanks,

Paul
Click to expand...

Regarding the fore end: I bought a hiking strap upgrade kit (for my 1979 Sf) from Windline; the kit came with a stainless steel plate. Not too hard to install and you can bolt it at any height. You do need an inspection port somewhere in the vicinity though.
 
Paul, if you look at the physical size on the rear compartment you'll see there's not much clearance to screw down an inspection port on the bottom and not really enough height to put one sized large enough to work through on the side.
That's the main reason they use the bolt through on the compartment lip.
The solution is to just leave a little extra line connecting the strap to the lip so the strap sits on the floor of the cockpit when you're not using it.
JMHO, but you'
ll need the extra line so the strap will come up in a correct position for your legs when you are hiked out.
 
Here is what I ended up doing...

I have a Harkin block base on the front lip of the cockpit. I removed the two nuts that held the base down, took off the backing plate, and put the grommet end of the hiking strap over the bolts. I had to hotmelt the strap between the grommets to make the grommets far enough apart. That was easy enough. I then put the backing plate and nuts back on and the front was done.

I wanted a clean application in the back but several people talked me out of the port idea. I still think it would have looked cleaner just not sure the port would have seated flat to create a good seal.

I ended up using the standard through the lip method. It went fairly well. I got a little close to the cubby floor with one hole but I could still make a good seal.

Thanks for the responses,

Paul
 
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