Salt-jammed jammers, how do I service them?

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WilliamUK

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Hi folks, as some of you will have seen, I have a boat which needs a bit of TLC before she goes back on the water.

She was sailed on salt water and then laid up for a while before I got her and so there's a fair bit of salt in the works. The cleats vary between "seems OK" and "almost solid with salt".

The two main types are the normal cam cleats (two cam-shaped things that jam a line between them) and something like this: http://www.sailboats.co.uk/productinfo.aspx?productID=R3591

I don't mind taking things apart if they don't need specialist tools to reassemble, and as there are bigger jobs (like a hole in the deck) that I'm waiting for a chance to start I don't mind taking my time on the smaller jobs to get things working as well and smoothly as possible.

That said, what's the best way to go about servicing these things? I need to get the salt out of them for sure, but is there anything else that may need doing? Spring replacement, lubrication or anything like that?

I've had a good ol' search on google and haven't found anything worthwhile yet so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction or tell me what I need to know.

Cheers.
 
A good dowsing in boiling water can be more effective than you'd think in freeing up salt encrusted jammers and the like. Failing that strip them down and dump the components in boiling water before reassembling with a good squirt of dry-lube.
 
The cam cleats usually come apart easily enough, I think all the ones I have are held together by the two screws that fix them down. . . take them off and they will fall apart!


The cleat / fairlead ones like RWO the one in the link cannot as far as I am aware be taken apart.


Ive never worried about lubrication.
A light spray with a PTFE lubricant perhaps if you must
 
Thanks, Vic.
I'm a long-time mountain biker so it seems strange not to lube everything that moves. I'm happy enough not to need to buy dry lube for the cleats if it's not needed though.

Thanks for telling me the cam cleats will probably come apart so easily, you may have saved me upsetting my neighbours with some choice words.

It turns out the failed ones I have are the same as that link. It looks like they could be taken apart, but not easily. The worst of them are currently in a pan of boiling water. I've left the others on the thwart so I don't do something silly like mix up the starboard and port ones.
 
WilliamUK,

I wonder about the talk of 'salt & lubrication', it's a common mistake to use grease on these sort of fittings ( and winches ) - it can easily gum up small moving parts, I'd clean the cleats off thoroughly and use teflon spray, if anything.

Some manufacturers of camcleats used to sell spare springs - I'd think mainly in case of losing them rather than fatigue - but marketing nowadays may mean they're keener on you buying whole new cleats !
 
New cleats may be the intention here. Even the cam cleats on her don't look like they are meant to come apart. Still, another one added to the boiling water.

I doubt I'll bother with any lube at all after the replies on here. She'll be on fresh water for the first few sails at least so I'll add lube later if I feel the need. Probably not too likely, but we'll see.
 
Cheers, John.

Well, after a good, long boiling one of the fairlead cleats is in clear need of replacement. It almost looks corroded, though it's plastic. £10 down the pan. :p
Although - there is another one that doesn't appear to be needed right now (I suspect it would be were I sailing with a kite though) so I may be able to press that into service as a replacement for the one I can't save. That should put the cost off to a later date at least.

The cam cleat I chucked in the pan is working a treat now though. I'm sure there's some salt left inside but moved by hand it opens smoothly and snaps back into place nice and quickly.



Is there a solvent that might be faster acting than water on the more stubborn and hard to reach clumps of salt?
 
Cleats

I have not seen that type of cleat in the link. I presume you pull the rope sideways to clear the cam and so release it. I really prefer the 2 cam cleats without a bale so that to clear it you pull the rope up and away.
Most cam cleats are held together by the mounting screws though I have seen them with like a rivetted tube that holds it all together with the screw through the tube. if it were a riveted tube I would be drilling the end out of the tube to get it all apart assuming you are going to throw it away anyway.
I use old fashioned horn cleats on my boat very effectively at least for halyards. Totally reliable and obvious how they work.
Contrary to Seajet I have had springs fail from fatigue. They then just stop returning. I agree no lubrication.
Good luck with the new boat olewill
 
I have not seen that type of cleat in the link. They are called "lance cleats" I think you will find and used on ( light) control lines mostly I think.
Useful because the line is captive and in use runs under a roller fairlead, so minimal friction

AFAIK only made by RWO
 
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Cheers, Woodlouse. I'll try that later in the week.


William, You're right about the lance cleat. Though the pull doesn't need to be entirely sideways, if there's still some travel left it can be more back than sideways and still release.

The ones I have are the riveted tube type. What looks like a bearing from above is the head of a tube that's been pressed outwards under the cleat base. When you talk about drilling them out are you suggesting to then use the mounting screws to hold it together?


Vic is right, these are currently used for things like the kicker, centreboard and so on. The heavy duty jobs are mainly dealt with by cam cleats.
 
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