midship cleat deck thickness

Bobg · July 28, 2009, 09:41:06 PM

Just received my new 8" 2 hole midship cleat, does anyone know the thickness of the deck in that area, a few inches in front of the waste hole. Have searched the archives and can't find it. 1988 "34".

Also when they say you should oversize the hole and fill with epoxy, then drill to the correct size, "How much oversize are they talking," Thank you

By the way, the cleat came with a 5/16" hole, I over sized it to 3/8". It is a SS cleat from Defender for 50 bucks.

Ed Shankle · July 29, 2009, 05:51:12 AM

Bob,
Did you rule out putting a sliding cleat on the genoa sheet track?

Ed

Craig Illman · July 29, 2009, 07:00:43 AM

Bob - The deck is one inch or less. I didn't measure it when I did mine. Check out Maine Sail's how-to pages at http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/boat_projects they are extremely helpfull and educational.

Craig

Bobg · July 29, 2009, 07:07:27 AM

ED, I have a sliding cleat on the outside track, it is clearly too far back for a good midship location, I tried to move it to the inside track but it is to long to get on the track, so I did what others did and bought a permanent cleat to mount on the deck. Thank You, Thanks Craig, will check out your suggested website Bob

Ron Hill · July 29, 2009, 03:09:40 PM

Bob : As Craig said, the deck thickness in that area is about 1".
If you've ever rebedded your port side vented stanchion - it's about 1" deck thickness.

Ted Pounds · July 30, 2009, 05:36:56 PM

I suggest a sturdy, metal backing plate behind it.

Fender washers wont cut it. It's easy to make one out of aluminum bar stock. (And you still need the washers.) Just a few thoughts...

Ron Hill · July 30, 2009, 05:53:30 PM

Bob : I make my backing plates out of 5/16" Lexan (polycarbonate). Easy to work with and easy to cut.
A thought

Bobg · July 30, 2009, 07:28:43 PM

Thank you everyone, I have made my backing plate out of 316ss which I had laying around. going to install it Sat. I am having a hard time finding a small amount of the west system epoxy for the holes, anyone have any Ideas? all I can find is the quart sizes. Anyone ever use any other epoxy? Like maybe the double tube ones you see in all the stores. Should I bed the cleat with poly-sulfide? The advertisement for the cleat said there was a recess for bedding, but there isn't, Bob

Stu Jackson · July 30, 2009, 08:00:36 PM

Use Marine Tex, comes in small quantities.

Craig Illman · July 30, 2009, 08:25:14 PM

Bob - To bed mine, I countersunk the holes and used butyl rubber.

Craig

Ron Hill · July 31, 2009, 06:51:18 PM

Bob : All you need to do is drill the hole larger than the cleat bolts. Then fill the hole with any 5 minute epoxy(tape the bottom side and fill the hole to the top). Let it REALLY cure overnight and then redrill that filled hole to the exact size of the mounting bolts.
When you use caulk just make sure that you only turn down the bolts about 3/4 tight and let the caulk cure for 24 hrs. Then tighten the bolts down.
If you tighten the bolts immediately you squeeze out all of the caulk and won't have a good seal !!
A thought.

Allan.SVCarina · August 01, 2009, 04:35:52 AM

Check at WM, I bought a small reapir pack there several years back that also included some various types of small filler containers.

Allan.SVCarina · August 04, 2009, 04:11:38 PM

Bob G, what did you end up doing out of curiosity?

Bobg · August 05, 2009, 07:22:19 PM

Allen, I got sidetracked and still haven't installed it, went sailing instead, I am ready to go though, Thanks Ron for the 5 minute epoxy tip. I will post pictures when done

Allan.SVCarina · August 07, 2009, 06:17:07 PM

Thanks Bob, I will be looking for them. I am planning at some point to do the same.