Making cleats

[Greg Luckett]

Ok, I know that I have seen posting in the past of wooden cleat making, but now cannot find any with the pictures. Adla made some too. I am thinking of making some for my Spindrift 12. I will use factory made ones for the halyard cleats and will mount those on the mast, but the ones for tying off the boat might look nice if made from white oak.

[PAR]

If you can find live oak, use it instead of white. It has an interlocking grain that resists splits ans checks, which white oak is infamous for. It's also stronger by a fair bit.

[sscoville]

Harry Bryan wrote an article in WoodenBoat magazine that is available online on their website showing how to make them.  It's in one of the free digital issues on their website.

[Hirilonde]

I agree with PAR on the Live Oak/White Oak comments.  Black Locust makes nice cleats as well.  Abeking & Rasmussen used it for many cleats on Concordias and the one-off designs they built. 

I have no cleats on my 9N.  My main halyard uses a jamb cleat on the mast just above the partner.  I use a hole in the bow just above the seat and aft I have holes in the quarter knees.  My bow painter is 8 knotted inside and passes out through the hole.  This not only means no cleat but no bow ring to bang into my Renegade as I row up to her.  My traveler goes from quarter knee to quarter knee and a permanent stern painter shares a hole with one end of the traveler.  My mainsheet swivel block/cam cleat is mounted to the dagger board cap.

There is no hardware mounted to the hull any where, nothing to tangle lines on at all, or take a chunk out of me as I so nimbly move about.

[Andrew_Butchart]

I used American Elm (sometimes called piss elm) to make some "Butler" jam cleats for my pirogue.  They worked well but are a bit bulky.  I have 2 giant slabs of it still - might make a bench.  The heart-wood rots easily but the sap-wood is quite rot resistant and has the interlocking grain you want for a cleat but hate for firewood.

I found the designs on Criag O'Donnel's "Cheap Pages" - http://www.thecheappages.com/boat/matl/cleats.html

[Greg Luckett]

Andrew,

Thanks for that link. It has exactly the sort of information that is needed. Now to find some Live Oak as PAR has suggested.

[Johnny Socko]

The USS Constitution was made from Live Oak. Cannon balls really did bounce off her.