Swivel Cam Cleat

I was sailing Sunday with my BIL in great wind when we broke the swivel cam cleat off the aft cross beam. Looking at it, it appears the plastic piece used to attach to the cross beam broke. I can't help but comment in the small screws used to fasten the thing in though.

Anyhow--I guess I'm looking for some guidance on reattaching a new cleat and what I should be concerned about. This is an old Hobie and as I've sailed it harder and harder, things have failed/broke etc.

For this reason alone I chose pop rivets instead of screws. Looking at the screws and the thin aluminum wall of the cross bar I was not at all confident that they would hold as well as the rivet. Rivets leave a lot more "meat" on the other side of the hole compared to screws and seem to me as a result they have a better hold than screws can offer. It looked to me like I was going to get three maybe four threads at best.

In case you haven't riveted much, relax, it's easy, especially with this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty ... 66422.html

This is THE riveter. I've used it a lot and can personally attest to its ease of use, power, convenience, and the confidence of knowing the rivets aren't going anywhere. It's also the one Jeremy at Surf City recommends and for good reason. I've posted this link many times and several folks have gotten one and really appreciate it.

Good luck!

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

Thanks--Keys Sailing on the beach suggested one or the other and that rivet holes would have to be drilled some which makes sense. The screws are pretty well countersunk from the original piece--do pop rivets ever cause a problem with the cleat turning free? Getting this boat had made me familiar with pop rivets.

hey i saw your thread about the rivets used for the endcap on the boom. do you happen to remember how much the SS rivets were at key sailing? im trying to figure out if it would be cheaper at west marine or key sailing. i need to re-redo the rivets on the mast base still. i first redid them with aluminum, and havent pulled them out and replaced with SS.

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'81 Hobie 16 #53 Cat Fever blue hulls

Fla Sailor: I used regular rivets, vice counter sunk rivets which I can't ever find, and have no issues with rotation. With a screw you're still going to have to drill a hole, only slightly larger with a rivet. Here's a good look at my set up:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak- ... 0310_n.jpg

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

Monkeywithawrench, I don't remember how much the rivets were. Seems I always wind up picking up more than one thing out there (old boat as I said) but I have a higher comfort level with the guys at Key Sailing just because Kirk has so many Hobies--I can be sure he's giving me the right rivet for the job.

Jman6631: thanks for the visual. I should be back on the water by tonight, looking to break something again (which I hope means I'm sailing hard!)

THE FIX: I used two longer screws forward but the last screw didn't tighten down so I rivited it in. Looks and feels solid....now if the storms will pass I can test it.

I saw a blue-hulled Hobie 16 this morning as I was seating the rivet. Anyone on this forum? Didn't get the sail # but setting out on East Bay this am towards Escrebano Point.