repairing cleats

[pandos]

My boat has 4 aluminium cleats 2 each fore and aft. Each is secured to the boat with 4 m8 bolts through countersunk holes in the bases. ( the bolts are each bent so that they sit properly in the cleat and still pass through the cap rail and gunnel ) They are washered and nutted underneath. so fitting new, other than identical cleats will be very difficult indeed.

When removed I discovered that they have been corroding underneath the bases so that they are weakened.

Questions for engineers or others capable of doing calculations regarding shear strength forces etc....,

Q1. Would grinding out the corrosion and filling in voids with aluminium weld return the articles to their original strength, or at least a substantial amount thereof?.

Q2. If I had them bored from the top to accommodate two additional m8 fixing bolts bolts that could then be washered and nutted underneath would I achieve at least the original design strength ?.

Option 2 is to pay approx €650 and buy new from HR and hope they fit exactly which is unlikely. (and I would rather not spend the cash)

Tony.

 

[pvb]

I guess it depends on how corroded they are. If they're very corroded around the fixing feet, welding might help. I think drilling holes through the main body might work, as most of the load is in shear.

I replaced a couple of cleats on my old HR352, because the feet had cracked around the fixing holes. HR Parts supplied new cleats which were an exact fit. I bedded the new cleats on patches of thin rubber.

 

[doug748]

Depends a bit on the amount of corrosion and your attitude to risk.

I had a similar problem but the cleats had bolts right through so it was not such a delicate decision. I flatted the base back to bare metal and bedded them on a 1/8th in tough rubber gasket. they are still good 20 years later because their feet are not standing in salt water.

If there is still 2/3rds of the meat left, I think I would reuse them and not add the additional bolts - I have a natural aversion to drilling holes in Halberg Rassys. If they are well wasted, it should still be possible to weld plates onto the bottom and regain something like the original strength

 

[pandos]

HR Parts supplied new cleats which were an exact fit. I bedded the new cleats on patches of thin rubber.

thats interesting but still € 633 + p&p..

 

[prv]

thats interesting but still € 633 + p&p..

Those cleats look pretty ordinary - surely you don't need to buy them from Halberg-Rassy?!

Without dimensions it's hard to find a like-for-like, but the YS models from Force 4 here look pretty similar: http://www.force4.co.uk/department/chandlery-above-deck/deck-hardware/cleats-clutches-jammers.html

To be honest even those prices seem a bit rich to me, but they're about a tenth of the HR figure.

Pete

 

[sailorman]

Check out YS Fittings site

Or Piplers

http://www.piplers.co.uk/chandlery/general-chandlery/ys-fittings

 

[pvb]

Those cleats look pretty ordinary - surely you don't need to buy them from Halberg-Rassy?!

Without dimensions it's hard to find a like-for-like, but the YS models from Force 4 here look pretty similar: http://www.force4.co.uk/department/chandlery-above-deck/deck-hardware/cleats-clutches-jammers.html

The dimensions are really the key, because you don't want to have to start filling holes and drilling new ones. Bear in mind also that the HR ones go on top of teak. And that the outer fixing bolts are cranked so the nuts can be attached inside. Getting identical footprint dimensions is fairly important.

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

My boat has 4 aluminium cleats 2 each fore and aft. Each is secured to the boat with 4 m8 bolts through countersunk holes in the bases. ( the bolts are each bent so that they sit properly in the cleat and still pass through the cap rail and gunnel ) They are washered and nutted underneath. so fitting new, other than identical cleats will be very difficult indeed.

When removed I discovered that they have been corroding underneath the bases so that they are weakened.

Questions for engineers or others capable of doing calculations regarding shear strength forces etc....,

Q1. Would grinding out the corrosion and filling in voids with aluminium weld return the articles to their original strength, or at least a substantial amount thereof?.

Q2. If I had them bored from the top to accommodate two additional m8 fixing bolts bolts that could then be washered and nutted underneath would I achieve at least the original design strength ?.

Option 2 is to pay approx €650 and buy new from HR and hope they fit exactly which is unlikely. (and I would rather not spend the cash)

Tony.

I thats OK then there is not much to consider regards strength. grind out the corrosion and fill with epoxy metal. Or better yet grind off the feet and replace with plates that dont need mangled bolts to fit. Aluminium welding can be done so as to reduce most or all heat affected zone, so no worries with either weld re-build or weld on new piece.

Or you could have a real barrel os laffs and cast your own from old beer cans.

 

[Jamesuk]

I bedded the new cleats on patches of thin rubber.

great suggestion: i used ARBO-Mast Butyl which worked after second attempt to 'waterproof' a leaking cleat. The rubber matt would be a good 'screw down' gasket.

The one cleat only leaked when we sail in very wet conditions. I susspect the riggers on board in 2012 damaged the setting using the two mid ship cleats to support the mast when servicing the rig