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PostPosted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:59 am 
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Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:06 pm
Posts: 34
Location: Santa Clara, California
I've been trying to find a good spot to mount a clam cleat for the mainsheet on my new Sport. :? I would really rather not put holes in the hull but if I have to I only want to do it once so I'm trying hard to find the right place the first time.

The ridges by the trays seem the most obvious but this seems vulnerable to damage in transit and storage. Behind the factory cleat seems possible but my GPS is mounted on the hand grip and that cleat position takes the sheet right across the GPS. Mounting it on the hand grip and relocating the GPS seems possible but I haven't found a good way to do it.

I'm re-inventing the wheel. Someone must have a solution that they have been happy with over time :?:


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 11:42 am 
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Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 5:17 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Auckland NZ
Hi Choochoo,

Sorry to see you haven't had any responses to this post yet.

Regret that I probably can't be much help personally cos I really am not familiar with the Sport but there are people out there who sail this model though & maybe one of these will put finger to keypad soon.... ?

The only suggestion I can offer which might or might not be of value is as follows: you say you will use a "clam" cleat. I wonder exactly which cleat this is: most people use one of two types: a "Cam" cleat (which has 2 sprung cams on it that come together to grip the rope) or a "Clam" cleat (which is a toothed groove which locks the rope in and down as load comes onto it). Since that is how you describe it I shall assume that you propose to use the latter; for what it is worth I have used these very effectively as a sheet belay on my Adventure as follows:

I mounted mine inside the Adventure's starboard parcel tray under the elasticated mesh (I put it there because then it would be below the line of the gunwales meaning that the cleat didn't stick up & get dameged when car-topping the boat). I mounted the cleat on an angled shim so that the cleat lined up more or less exactly with the lead of the sheet coming from a turning block which I mounted in the forward RHS of the cockpit (I just tied the block to the Hobie cleat - I think, or is it a padeye? - that is installed there). I also used a "keeper" to prevent the sheet from jumping into the cleat when I was trying to release it in a hurry and to make adjustment easier. Both shim and "keeper" available from the manufacturer. I used the smallest size cleat I could lay my hands on. I did have to drill a couple of holes in my boat but then these are easily closed up again with a quick plastic weld.

It is possible to just tie a cleat to one of the standard deck fittings to avoid having to drill, indeed when I fly a jib I use tied on cleats as jib sheet 'winches' and another to belay the jib halyard and 'outhaul', but there are a couple of problems with just tying them on which stem from difficulty in fixing a tied-on cleat down firmly enough that it doesn't move around:
1. it can be a 2-handed operation to get a line into a cleat which is not fixed down
2. if the cleat moves it can be difficult to release the rope from the cleat quickly e.g. if you want to spill wind from the sail in a hurry.
For these reasons I opted to drill holes for my mainsheet cleat; as for the jib sheet cleats I decided to tie these on & put up with the 2-handed nature of the sheet/unsheet process because I only use the jib in very light winds when there is, theoretically at least, a low risk of being blown flat by a gust (i.e. in the event that you can't unsheet quickly enough)

Good luck with finding the right place for the cleat, sorry I can't be more help but I hope that you may find that these ideas help you.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 10:37 am 
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Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:43 pm
Posts: 24
Location: New Mexico
My solution for my Revolution was to shape a piece of wood to fit in the cup holder. This provided the handiest mounting placement for a cheek block and cam cleat. The cup holder on the Sport looks a little different but I think the same approach would work. If you have part of the wood or something else attached to the side of it fit in the water drainage slot, it will keep the wood from rotating when in use. Then you just need to figure out how to keep the wood from falling out if the kayak is upside down. I used the existing holes on the mesh pocket. Its hard to tell from photos but you may be able to tie in to the seat clip just below the cup holder to keep from drilling any new holes. Check out this post link.
viewtopic.php?t=7065&highlight=improved+rigging


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:26 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 5:17 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Auckland NZ
To reiterate what others have said - that is a very neat installation, not to mention a very cunning one !


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:34 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:46 pm
Posts: 3017
Location: Escondido
choochoo22 wrote:
I've been trying to find a good spot to mount a clam cleat for the mainsheet on my new Sport.

This depends a lot on how you're running your sheet. I like to go forward with the sheet then pull back, but you could pull forward from the stern if you prefer. Each gives different options. Here's an installation adding a padeye and cam cleat.
Image

Here's another installation using a side mounted jamb (clam) cleat as an alternative.
Image

Don't be afraid to put holes in your boat. The manufacturer does it all the time!! Maximize your utility -- if you need to add a padeye, block, cleat, etc. Just try to get your line-up right before you drill. :wink: No matter how you do it, try to keep it below the gunwales so it doesn't snag on anything or interfere with any inverted transport or storage. 8)


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:14 pm 
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Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:06 pm
Posts: 34
Location: Santa Clara, California
Thanks for the suggestions. Sorry to seem unresponsive, I've been out of town for a week+.

The bigger boats seem to have more places to put things and more accessories, like the net, to attach to without new holes. I also noticed that on some boats the the inner gunnel rail is lower than the outer so things can be mounted on the inner without being exposed when the boat is stored on its rails.

In any case..... Here is what I did :arrow:

I bought three 2" sections of PVC pipe that nest. Sliced each section in half lengthways. Glued three "halves" together with a hose clamp sandwiched between them to make a PVC piece thick enough to screw into. Mounted a clam cleat on the PVC. Took off the excess and sharp corners. I now have a block of PVC with a cleat which attaches neatly to the rubber hand grip on the Sport with a hose clamp. (a few details omitted for brevity) Relocated the GPS forward on the same grip.

It's not a perfect solution. Among other things it does rise somewhat above the gunnel. It can be rotated below the gunnel but may interfere with the seat strap if lowered this way. It should provide a temporary solution to see how a cleat works out for me in that area and whether it will be OK using the cleat "backwards" or whether I want to try installing turning block. Perhaps it will be a permanent solution, will see.

Now I just need a chance to try it :!:


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