It shows up over and again. Fluid optimizes cleats for a side-tie to the floating docks of the PNW. They are not well located for fixed piers more common on the East Coast.
Since you are located on the East Coast, its a worthwhile project to think through locations to add cleats that fit the area, and do them all, at one time. By that I am including the addition of chocks more forward-facing than the ones generally installed, that would be more useful for both an anchor bridle as well as bow lines in fixed piers. Remember, they have to be bedded and through-bolted. Which means that the locations have to be somewhere that you can install nuts from below deck.
Second, chafe is a fact of life in boating. You can't get away from that, and do need to consider strategies to minimize it. Docklines and anchor lines are just the beginning. Boats move. Even past the movements from waves, you have constant vibration when underway. Wiring and hoses can wear and chafe from vibration alone. Vibration can and does cause nuts to back off and loosen in wiring and elsewhere, and in some cases the nuts have been known to come completely off. I've heard of cases where bottled water vibrates against something and wear through the thin walls of that plastic, so if that can happen just think about something more important like wire runs. This is just one more reason why the advice is given often to make a top to bottom inspection of everything on a regular basis, at least annually. Build checklists to be systematic about it. Clean electrical connections and snug them up. Snug up hose clamps. Check for chafe. Use a meter to check power delivered to electronics. The stories are legion about weak battery output that causes people to suspect weak batteries, but it turns out to be no more than a need to remove and clean the battery posts and connections.
