mid ship cleats

[McTug]

Andrew is there a safe way to add mid ship cleat to a 2007 R-25. We only have the bow cleat and the stern ones. Thanks Mack

 

[j&lgray]

I carefully looked into this idea for the Laurie Ann and could not find an easy solution IF you want the cleat to be secured with either a stout backing plate or large washers and locking nuts. Yes, you can screw a cleat down with screws but the holding power is very limited and when it pulls out, the fiberglass will need to be repaired.

What makes this difficult to do is the elegance of the boat's engineering and manufacturing. You probably already know that a "cabin liner" is placed into the finished hull after all the tanks, wiring, and hoses are done. The downside to using a liner is that large parts of the inner hull are not accessible unless access ports are cut into the liner wall or floor. The location of the cleats that you have in mind are not accessible in an easy way.

This is what makes the Ranger 25 an awesome yet tight package; the boat is chock full of capabilities but at the expense of having the room to work around them.

Maybe, Andrew has a better option for you.

 

[rt11002003]

I keep thinking I'll buy a R25 and the mid ship cleats, or the lack thereof, was an issue. I've reconsidered the idea. If I had mid ship cleats there isn't a way for me to get to them. At my age, and physical condition (stiff), there's no way I could climb out on that narrow ledge, hold on to the cabin top hand holds and reach down to a cleat. 🙁

I've decided the factory placement is best (at least for me). 🙂

Gene

 

[Lobo]

I had the "pleasure" of digging into the port-side rail via the V-Berth cabin top this week. The stanchion, port-side, second from aft, was leaking. The water came out in the upper corner of the bulkhead, V-Berth side, portside. Andrew told me to remove the ceiling fur (I took two panels off). I also took off the fur on the V-Berth bulkhead.

I had a nice 8" matching cleat in hand to install while I did the repair.

Fortunately it was the "second last" stanchion that was leaking -- I could get to that one. Easy to remove the bolts, recaulk and get a friend to work the screwdriver from topside while I held the nuts in a vice grip below.

The problem is that the space inside -- underneath the gunwhale (where the stanchion bases are affixed) is not wide enough for the 2 side-by-side screw holes in the 8" stanchion. I have a smaller one on board, it also was too large. So I closed the whole thing up without putting on that cleat. I would really have liked on there as I find the installed one under the cockpit windows not forward enough.

I did look at alternative installation areas. One would be on top of the outside deck adjacent to the V-Berth overhead window. My concern is that the line would rub against the fiberglass, although that is fixable with a stainless steel guard. That option MIGHT be taken; I have some serious thinking to do on this.

Another alternative would be a plastic cleat. These don't match, of course, but they have only 2 screws and they would be able to be installed. I'm considering this, but it would look out of place on the boat -- can't have "ugly" on a Ranger.

Dave on "Lobo"

 

[Andrew Custis]

I will add to this. By us adding these in before the deck was stacked, made the difference. It can be done, but pretty difficult to add after the fact. I wouldnt be worrying about fiberglass strength or anything, just ease of access.

 

[davewilke1]

For anyone who is thinking about adding midship cleats with screws alone, DON"T DO IT!!. I researched the subject when I added midship cleats to my Searay. My local boat shop insisted that the cleats be through bolted and I agreed. I did it my self as follows: After carefully selecting the location, making sure you are not drilling into wires or cables on the inside I marked and drilled the holes in three steps. 1/8" pilot hole, then use a 3/8" bit (sharp) to very lightly chamfer the gel coat slightly larger than the through hole (not too deep,this prevents spider cracks) then finally all the way through with 1/4". Then I made two 3/16" thick aluminum plates about two inches bigger than the footprint of the cleat on all sides to reinforce the inside of the gunwale where the cleats are installed. I marked and predrilled cleat mounting holes in the plate. I had to bend the plate slightly to fit the contour of the inside of the hull. After roughing up the hull side of the plate with a belt sander (Heavy grit for better adhesion), prefit all the parts to make sure the plate fits tight against the inside of the hull. Then using a good marine grade sealant, lightly coat the bottom of the cleat and position it over the holes using two screws as locators. Generously coat the inside of the plate with sealant (I used marine epoxy for this) and position it over the guide screws from the inside. Coat the threads of the remaining two screws about the thickness of the hull down from the head and install them in the cleat. Install (stainless) nylock nuts and snug from the inside (might need some help here). Remove the two locating screws and coat as before. Install the screws and snug all. Do not over tighten. Clean up excess sealant. Mine turned out great! You need inside access so I don't know how it will work on a Ranger. DW