adla Posted November 16, 2004 Posted November 16, 2004 sometime back there was a post about cleats i have been itching to try making some...where i am headed with them...hard to say. the little one is a knock off of a plastic cleat i bought for the rudder box. The other two jam cleats??? are for the mast and boom....i did get the ol'girl cleaned out today...i had just been throwing things in her for *storage* and wanted to work on hatches but discovered i couldn't get to them without rethinking the entire carport....anyway...here are the cleats...mahogany Quote
adla Posted November 16, 2004 Author Posted November 16, 2004 i meant to ask...how many cleats will i need in total...realistically...i have a great deal of fun making them. a. Quote
Frank Hagan Posted November 16, 2004 Posted November 16, 2004 Very nice! I'm trying to think of how many cleats I have .... One on the center of the foreward deck just aft of the bits (didn't want to have to keep re-varnishing them by actually using them for line!), one on each side deck at the beamiest part of the boat, and one on each stern quarter deck. So 5 of the regular cleat kind. For the halyards and sheets, I used cam cleats all around, and ran every line back to the cockpit. I have two cam cleats on the side decks about the middle of the cockpit for the jib sheets, and then two on the starboard cabin top right at the cockpit for the main and throat halyard. I like the cam cleats for sheets and halyards, as they are so easy to set. Quote
Dave R1 Posted November 16, 2004 Posted November 16, 2004 Adla, those are very nice looking cleats. I'm jealous. I have six horn cleats to Frank's five. Two up at the bow along the rails on either side of the bowsprit. I use one for a dock line while the other gets a line from the tack of the jib that goes down around a block at the bottom of the forestay and back to that cleat. Like Frank, I have cam cleats for the halyards and jib sheets as well as for one end of the topping lift. The other end of the topping lift belays to a horn cleat on the tabernacle. So, that makes seven horn cleats on Julie K. Quote
adla Posted November 16, 2004 Author Posted November 16, 2004 thanks for the help, i just found the horn cleats on the cheap cleat pages...i really like the way that page is so detailed with dimensions and such...do you guys use 4" cleats? I just liked the look of the jam cleat and will use the large one on the mast for line... I can make 5 or six later today....Dave, that wood slicer blade you suggested for the bansaw is absolutely dreamy.....AMAZING really. thx. Adla Quote
Florin {VACATIONER} Posted November 16, 2004 Posted November 16, 2004 Those are really nice Adla! I wanted to make some of those too. When we launched in a hurry I didn't have time, so I said I'll make some over the winter. We found we didn't need any at all. We kept tying off in the scupper holes... we have 2 at the front and 3 at the back on each side. At one point in time I even went and bought some plastic ones at the store, but turned around and returned them 'cause we thought they'd be useless and we'd just trip over them on deck. For the anchor we use the bowsprit bitts... it works great. On the other hand some people "really" like their cleats... not that there's anything wrong with that :-) Cheers Quote
Greg Luckett Posted November 16, 2004 Posted November 16, 2004 thanks for the help' date=' i just found the horn cleats on the cheap cleat pages...i really like the way that page is so detailed with dimensions and such...do you guys use 4" cleats? I just liked the look of the jam cleat and will use the large one on the mast for line...I can make 5 or six later today....Dave, that wood slicer blade you suggested for the bansaw is absolutely dreamy.....AMAZING really. thx. Adla[/quote'] I must have missed Dave's blade recommendation. Can you tell more? Thanks. Quote
JMetzner Posted November 16, 2004 Posted November 16, 2004 Wow! Adla. Excellent job on the cleats! --John M. Quote
adla Posted November 16, 2004 Author Posted November 16, 2004 when i first picked up the bandsaw, Dave suggested a better spring and a woodslicer blade. i think it was a lee valley blade, and it was actually called a "wood slicer" and that it does....cust so easy and clean. i am off to the shop to try out a horn cleat...or two thanks for the compliments...i think they look nice because it is hard for that mahogany not to look nice....it is so pretty, finished or unfinished. a. Quote
adla Posted November 16, 2004 Author Posted November 16, 2004 i've gone cleat crazy...i decided to try the horn cleat...i made a 3inch one because i had some 1/2" stock handy.... a. Quote
adla Posted November 17, 2004 Author Posted November 17, 2004 i've gone bananas...here is a 4.5 inch cleat with a little bit of a curve to it. a. Quote
kydocfrog Posted November 17, 2004 Posted November 17, 2004 Awww, man... look at that shop table and what that implies. I can feel my eyes turning green... Quote
Bill Posted November 17, 2004 Posted November 17, 2004 Are those plans online for the cleats... Quote
Dave R1 Posted November 17, 2004 Posted November 17, 2004 Bill, look at this: http://www.friend.ly.net/~dadadata/boat/matl/cleats.html Quote
adla Posted November 17, 2004 Author Posted November 17, 2004 yep, that is the right link, Dave. I just printed out that bunch of plans and went cleat crazy. the table is nice...it would be a lot more functional if it were in a larger shop...but it is fun for little projects. a. Quote
adla Posted November 29, 2004 Author Posted November 29, 2004 more boring cleat progress....it was 50 dagRees here today. brrrr cold :shock: hehehe....anyways they are done and varnished...if i could only get motivated and clean the boat...i have just the mast and boom to make before i run out of excuses for not finishing the boaty boat part. a. Quote
capt jake Posted November 29, 2004 Posted November 29, 2004 it was 50 dagRees here today. brrrr cold Poor Adla in Nevada It was 30 here this AM! Hey, those cleats are looking great! Quote
adla Posted November 29, 2004 Author Posted November 29, 2004 hey jake...i have my priorities straight....a week ago i was at my lake house in central *cold* nevada...and it was like 20 degrees on the lake but it didn't keep me and the dogs from fishing...of course i had long johns, pajama bottoms, jeans 4 shirts and 3 jackets on...hehehe and a scull cap...and two big dogs just in case.... a. Quote
Barry Pyeatt Posted November 29, 2004 Posted November 29, 2004 Good looking dogs! Cleats look good too! I like the way your are going to look along with your other Mahogany brightwork. Cleats are on the low priority list for me as I have a box full of both new and somewhat used cleats that I can use until I get some made up. But I've seen a number of builders that have used those same dimensions from the Cheap Pages to make up theirs. Some are pretty exotic woods but some are pretty common lumber too. One thing that you may want to consider as far as finishing them is to submerge them in raw linseed oil and boil them for about an hour or so and up to about three hours. Then just wipe them off and let them dry over several weeks. Then buff them off and you can finish with varnish if you choose. The linseed oil will get drawn into the wood grain and prevent checking and strengthen the cleats substantially. The finish at that point with just a buffing looks really nice but if you wish to varnish that helps to protect them from UV quite a bit more. This treatment is recommended for most all woods that tend to splinter when broken. That would include most everything except possibly elm where the grain tends to interlock. The other important point about them is to absolutely use an oval head bolt with a flat washer on top (let into the surface) and thru bolt them with a backing plate so you are not tending to split the wood as you tighten them down. Orient them so they are pointing about 30 degrees off of a direct line with the sheets leading to them so they will allow you to tie them off and they will be less apt to be broken from stress on the grain. This is quite important with the jam cleats in particular so they will function as you need them a lot better. (Clearance) Quote
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