Adding cam cleat to cabin top

[southofvictor]

I want to add a cam cleat on our cabin top for my vang line. The best lead I’ve found would put it just outboard of the starboard companionway hatch slide, forward of the mainsheet winch. Right now I’m using that winch’s horn cleat for it since the winch is a self-tailer.

I have two questions:
1 - should I expect the cabin top at that point to be cored? No problem dealing with it, just want to know whether it’ll be a multi-day project or not.
2 - can I grind away some of a Harken cam cleat riser to accommodate the curve of the companionway rail and still expect it to perform or should I plan to use a piece of something solid as a riser?

Heres a pic, the arrow points toward the spot I’m thinking of placing the cleat.

 

[bsangs]

We have a triple rope clutch in that general vicinity on our 35-3 (came with it installed), but do not have a cleat located in that area. Functions very well and seems solidly attached.

That's a wife playing Candy Crush pose down below, with which I'm very familiar.

 

[G Kiba]

Jim, I might think it may be difficult to release with it located up so far forward. Those cleats work best close to an edge. I had a routing issue with my reef lines that I solved with a low friction deck organizer. Vang, cunningham, outhaul. Not much line movement. Nothing worse than drilling holes for something that does not work well. As for making surfaces flat, I found that epoxy putty (in a tube) works wonders! You can shape and contour the finish before it hardens. Amazing stuff.

 

[Kenneth K]

I would expect wood coring in that location. I think you'd be fine to sand/grind away at the base of the cleat a bit to meet the curvature. The base is probably not solid plastic, but a shell with ribs, which you could fill will epoxy if desired to make it more solid.

When I had to change the angle and slope on some deck hardware, I did it in various different ways.


For the clutch and clam-cleat, I built bases from thickened epoxy. For the fairlead, I purchased a plastic fairlead base "extender," then cut and shaped it to size, filled the hollow parts inside with epoxy, then painted it black.

I think G Kiba might have a point about difficulty working a cam cleat in that spot. Maybe test it out before you drill the holes.

 

[southofvictor]

Good point Grant, thanks for that. So you’re thinking put a low friction redirect to get the line to run fair past the winch, then put the cam cleat at the edge of the cabin top like the traveler cam cleat?

 

[southofvictor]

Doh, double post. Thanks for the epoxy in the voids of the store-bought base idea Ken, I hadn’t thought of that

 

[Loren Beach]

If you do not have a "wide" enough area for the base of a conventional cam cleat, there exists a vertical version. I once put a smaller Lance Cleat on a boom for an outhaul. Handy design, for some applications.

R3604 - Cleat 10mm Lance S/B (Pk Size: 1) - RWO Marine

A midi lance cleat for lines from 5-10mm colour blue with a starboard side cam, A unique design utilising the cam cleat principal. Uses a single rugged aluminium cam mounted vertically in a black mould reinforced stainless steel frame

rwo-marine.com

 

[G Kiba]

Yes! You might want to use the second position for another light running control. Looking back at your photo, what about to the far right of left where you have a straight flat surface on the bevel? Maybe? Might just squeeze under the dodger too.