Flag halyard cleats on shrouds

[lustyd]

Courtesy flags are meant to be flown on entering a state's territorial waters.

Yes, but sometimes you have to sail in the real world.

 

[dunedin]

Why would one need cleats on a mast? Surely the sensible thing to do is take all lines back to the cockpit ????

Or …… why does one need cleats, surely halyard stoppers are preferable

PS. No flag halyard cleats for me, tied off to chainplates. Would not want anything attached to shrouds.

 

[Minerva]

Or …… why does one need cleats, surely halyard stoppers are preferable

You hoist your sails? Don't you realise how much replacement sails cost!? I keep mine nice and neatly folded under a nice protective cover at all times! No flogging. No UV damage. Out of the weather - Last ages when you look after them!


P.s. - top tip - paining your anodes makes them last longer too ?

 

[Graham_Wright]

Courtesy flags are meant to be flown on entering a state's territorial waters.

Would that include Ireland (the southern bit)?

 

[dunedin]

You hoist your sails? Don't you realise how much replacement sails cost!? I keep mine nice and neatly folded under a nice protective cover at all times! No flogging. No UV damage. Out of the weather - Last ages when you look after them!


P.s. - top tip - paining your anodes makes them last longer too ?

Eh?

 

[Boathook]

Why would one need cleats on a mast? Surely the sensible thing to do is take all lines back to the cockpit ????

To much modifications to bring the lines to the cockpit. Also more friction when hoisting sails.

 

[LittleSister]

I've found them very useful on one boat, and a bit of a nuisance on another. (The latter can also apply to signal halyard cleats mounted on guard-wire stanchions.)

It's horses for courses, especially on small boats where more compromises have to be made, and can be done or not according to the owner's whims and preferences. The posts above give a fair outline of the potential advantages and disadvantages.

They don't cost a lot of money (as boaty things go), and are easily fitted and removed, so if you think they may be of use to you give them a try. If you don't get on with they can always go in your 'might come in handy one day' box/shed/loft/warehouse facility, or on the 'For Sale' section of the Forum.

Being able to sit on the coachroof while one is faffing about with signal halyards, dayshapes, etc., and facing and being able to reach whatever it is you are securing the halyard to is a boon not to be sneezed at. Whether you want shroud mounted cleats to achieve that is another matter.

 

[Daydream believer]

Amazing
How can such a simple thread create such disagreement? It is a bit like " My anchor is better than yours" anchor thread (Which it is by the way) & seems to be raising some hackles.
Are people suffering "Cold turkey", because they cannot go sailing?& it is making them argumentative

 

[Poignard]

Amazing
How can such a simple thread create such disagreement? It is a bit like " My anchor is better than yours" anchor thread (Which it is by the way) & seems to be raising some hackles.
Are people suffering "Cold turkey", because they cannot go sailing?& it is making them argumentative

This may be one of those questions that, merely by asking it, puts the questioner at risk of incurring penalty points but might it be because there is no longer a current affairs forum in which we can vent our spleen? ?

 

[geem]

QUOTE="Daydream believer, post: 8132313, member: 107255"]
Why would one need cleats on a mast? Surely the sensible thing to do is take all lines back to the cockpit ????
[/QUOTE]
Only if you enjoy siting in a snake pit?

 

[Poignard]

Why would you do it in a seaway? Wait until are somewhere calmer. It's not that important.

1. Flying a courtesy flag in foreign waters is one of those little courtesies that I am happy to observe; especially as it involves me in no more effort than walking 8 feet from the cockpit to the shrouds, sitting down on the coachroof, attaching the flag to its halyard and then walking back again.

2. "Somewhere calmer" presumably means within the confines of the destination port.
When I get there I am usually busily occupied in getting out and deploying warps and fenders, sail tyers, pilotage, calling up the Harbourmaster on the VHF; finding my berth or looking out for H/M's dory to guide me; all the while making sure I don't run into something. So anything I can do beforehand seems to me to be worthwhile doing.

3. If I had my flag halyards belayed to a cleat above my head they would be at such an angle that the flag would be brought near to the shrouds, on which they would soon shred themselves.

 

[MJWB]

Thanks all for thoughts. Can't see why anything should snag if set at a good height. I'll consider whether I want them that high. Thanks again.

 

[greeny]

Why I don't wear a ring when working or sailing. Many people do. Lots of points on boats where a ring can catch and cause injuries like this. Shroud cleats would just be another hazard. I stick to half hitches and keep it simple.

 

[Daydream believer]

QUOTE="Daydream believer, post: 8132313, member: 107255"]
Why would one need cleats on a mast? Surely the sensible thing to do is take all lines back to the cockpit ????

Only if you enjoy siting in a snake pit?
[/QUOTE]
Depends if you have learned how to coil lines. After all, if you cannot there would be problems up for'ard. Especially if they came loose in a couple of big waves & washed over the side. Much safer to have them where they can be tended --in the cockpit.?

 

[lustyd]

Why I don't wear a ring when working or sailing. Many people do. Lots of points on boats where a ring can catch and cause injuries like this. Shroud cleats would just be another risk point. I stick to half hitches and keep it simple.

The ring is the risk there, not the cleat. Since you are already at extreme risk wearing a ring, the presence or not of a shroud cleat makes little difference. Take off the ring, be more careful, problem solved.

 

[greeny]

The ring is the risk there, not the cleat. Since you are already at extreme risk wearing a ring, the presence or not of a shroud cleat makes little difference. Take off the ring, be more careful, problem solved.

I get your point after a fashion. (Before someone else jumps in, and gets pedantic,the ring and the cleats are actually both hazards, the risk is the liklihood of them coming together and causing injury and/or accident). Remove one or other and the risk is removed of course. IMHO its easier to not have the cleats and other "traps" than to ask everyone who comes on my boat to removes their rings. Many people can't get them off even if they wanted to. I'm not dictating how people should manage their own boat and risks. Merely showing what could happen and then people can make their own mind up. Not many people even consider the risk of ring wearing and finger stripping unless they've worked in industry or the medical profession.

 

[Daydream believer]

I was once running in my factory. I ran through a doorway & my ring hooked on the door handle. I can say that I have never worn any ring, including my wedding ring, since.

 

[lustyd]

IMHO its easier to not have the cleats and other "traps"

So you removed that nasty hot oven? And the kettle full of scalding water? And the knives? People sometimes get ropes around their neck too, and fall in the water, and and and...let's just all stay in bed where it's safe eh?

 

[srm]

Having sailed quite a few thousand miles with a little plastic cleat well out of the way on one of my lower shrouds I fail to see what all the fuss is about. It is a minimal risk on my boat and I can hoist a courtesy flag at sea by standing on the coachroof, (with a short tether to the mast if needed).

Other owners may not be able to locate such a cleat so safely in which case they will make their own assessment and decission. This is why wandering around a marina looking at the details on other boats is so interesting. Fortunately, we are all free to rig our boats as we want.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Would that include Ireland (the southern bit)?

The first paragraph of respected website noonsite.com's page on the subject says what I said in my Post#19. It applies to ALL nations.