Dock tie down/cleats?

Anyone have an easy solution for putting some cleats on the pontoons of a Hobie. I would hate to drill holes and use 5200 on my boat, but would like to be able to tie it up at a dock for the night. I've been attaching some lines to the rails front and aft, but would rather put some cleats on. Suggestions welcome.

I'm interested in this as well. There are times when I want to tie up to a dock overnight. Suggestions on where to attach the dock lines and fenders would be great.

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Zach

If you have the seats, you can create cleats of a sort by removing the bolt that keeps you from losing the pins and install longer carriage bolts instead. Makes a nice handy cleat.

But for docklines, I just use the seat supports (but I don't park overnight).

If you don't have the seats, I'd continue to use the crossbeams rather than make cleats. But if you really want cleats, you can screw them onto the crossbeams if you use self tapping screws. Could probably do the same on the floats but I wouldn't.

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R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II

I concur: for temporary dock tie-up, I carry four docklines with loops pre-spliced, and put the looped ends around each wing support and pull the bitter end through and cleat to the dock while I go get the trailer. The docklines get stored in a back once I'm on the water (to avoid tangles) and get relooped to the wing struts on my way back in. But I emphasize temporary. Here's Matt Miller's old post to this forum on not storing your Getaway in the water:


Quote:
Mooring a cat is a risk. Just be clear... Hobie Cat does not recomend mooring.

Cats do not ride at anchor well and are jarred by even small wave action. The waves cause accelerated wear and movement of the rigging parts. Rigs can fall if the shroud wires, forestay or bridles come loose or are damaged. The boat needs to be carefully prepared and inspected often. Tape clevis pins and rings. Check bolt tensions. Keep the mast rig tight and restrict the mast rotation. Tie off the rudders tightly in the up position.

As the wind angle changes a cat can sail forward rather than slip sideways. This can cause the boat to pull up and over an anchor possibly pulling the anchor free or causing the boat to pitch pole.

I recommend pulling boats onto a float or dock that will absorb the wave action and allow it to swing at anchor. This also keeps the hulls out of the water preventing damage or discoloration to the hull materials. This is a bigger issue on fiberglass cats. They can absorb water and cause blistering of the glass and gelcoat.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA

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Don
Strongsville (near Cleveland) OH
Lake Erie sailor, mostly
2011 Getaway "Happy Couple"

I'd be nervous about having cleats. When you capsize or pitch-pole and people are sliding around, seems like a cleat could catch your clothing/PFD or damage whatever body part hits it.

I wouldn't drill holes into the hulls to attach cleats, I would use docklines tied to the crossbars.

I tie docklines to my wingseat struts. On occasion, I've tied to the front spreader. No, I wouldn't add cleats onto the hulls.
And sometimes I tie on fenders, depending on the dock. I've tied to the wingseat struts, the mast, the hiking straps-plenty of places to tie the fenders to.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

One of the best things I liked about the Getaway was that I didn't need fenders...of course, the dock I used was well protected and I only tied up for a short time.

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R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II