Hi folks. I'm new to the Laser and have a question about mounting mainsheet cam cleats on the side decks. The Class Handbook is very clear on the size and location of the plywood backing blocks, but gives no indication at all as to their thickness. Does anyone know how thick these blocks are, or how far the screws should penetrate the deck? Are there any cubetainters or similar buoyancy containers that could be punctured if the screws are too long?
I started off sailing the laser and wanting to put cam cleats on my boat. But being somewhat sloth-like I never got round to it and figured out that for almost all situations that I would have liked a cleat, I can just put the sheet under my butt and have a quick-release cleat
Even with this setup I've been dumped a few times from not "uncleating" fast enough !!
There is nothing that can be damaged by protruding screws under the mounting point. 1.5-2 cm (< 1 inch) of screw in the deck is more than adequate to hold the cleat securely in place.
I believe the plywood backer is 3/4" thick. As Sean said, too long is not a problem - I would, however, use a screw long enough to go completely through the plywood.
That being said, about an inch longer that the thickness of your cleat should be just fine.
I installed the cam cleats today -- no fuss, no muss. The total thickness of the deck and backing block in the area turned out to be almost exactly 3/4". Allowing for the thickness of the fibergalss, the plywood block must be slighly less than 3/4" thick -- perhaps 5/8".