2005 sportster cleat install

[khangoroo]

Hi folks,

After one season with my sportster, I realize the factory locations of the cleats for the boat are absolutely in the wrong places. With the shape of the boat / hull, it would make sense to have the line cleats at the widest parts of the boat where it would rub against the docks (I think it's roughly at the grab handle on the port side and shifters on starboard side). Anyway....I just purchased two cleats to install in those exact two locations. Is there anything I should know before I start drilling holes into the hull for the installation? Looking at the parts catalog, it looks like there are no fasteners on the other end to secure the screws, just straight through the cleat and into the hull. Is that secured enough? Any particular place I should avoid? Best place to drill into the thickest parts of the hull?

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[crisso]

Always.ALWAYS look behind what you are drilling.Do not screw the cleats to the positions.Use small bolts (whatever head shape needed) and use a backing plate or the bibbest washers you can fit in there.Even if you have to bend them to a curve.Always stainless screws and washers.Backing plate may be aluminium.Use nuts that have the nylon insert in them(in Aust. we call them Nylocks).Put it all together using to much silicon(white if thats the color) and wipe off the excess.Then cover the nuts with silicon as well.They then will never vibrate loose.Hope this helps

 

[crisso]

Should have said.If there is room behind where you are putting the cleats,you can buy cleats that will push in flush and you give them a nudge and they pop out to reveal the cleat.They look good and it helps prevent stray line and bum hookups.Just a thought.I have 2 on a boat and untill they pop out,you don't know they are there

 

[khangoroo]

Always.ALWAYS look behind what you are drilling.Do not screw the cleats to the positions.Use small bolts (whatever head shape needed) and use a backing plate or the bibbest washers you can fit in there.Even if you have to bend them to a curve.Always stainless screws and washers.Backing plate may be aluminium.Use nuts that have the nylon insert in them(in Aust. we call them Nylocks).Put it all together using to much silicon(white if thats the color) and wipe off the excess.Then cover the nuts with silicon as well.They then will never vibrate loose.Hope this helps

crisso, that sounds great and all, and i would totally do that, but how would i if i don't have access to the back (inside of the hull)? even with the factory cleats, there is no way to access the other side. I'm not sure how those were install originally, or if there is some kind of wooden board behind the locations where the cleats were installed. The push/flush cleats sound great, but again, i would run into the issue of not being able to access the inside to put plates/washers/nylon insert nuts...HELP!!

 

[khangoroo]

Hi all,

So I thought I'd try to install the cleats with Crisso's recommendations. The only way I would be able to drill holes through the hull/gunwale is to remove the cup holder on the port side and the control arms (Forward-Neutral-Reverse and throttle) on the starboard side. I'm concerned with removing the control arms, as I'm not sure if I may really mess things up. I looked at the seadoo parts catalog to get a sense of that area and it looks quite complicated. Any suggestions or should I leave that alone?

If I don't go with installing factory cleats (which I already purchased), the other option is what Crisso mentioned - the pop up cleats. I looked these up, by Accon Marine (http://www.acconmarine.com/p-19-pop-up-cleat.aspx) and it looks like there's an option to mount them topside only with a backing plate. If I go with this route, can I cut holes in the hull/gunwale at those two locations (cupholder on port and control arms on starboard)? Again, I looked at the drawings from the parts catalog. There's something called the soundwall seal for both sides. Anyone know what these are??

Any other options to protect my hull in these two locations if I don't go with cleats at all? I looked up hull hugrs, with options for suction cups and other strap options, and the reviews are not good.

PLEASSSSSEEEEE HELP

 

[Macster]

Let me know what you find behind the fibreglass as I need to fit a ski rack too! Personally, I have rigged up some rope that attaches to either cleat and places my fenders where they need to be. It's not perfect but it holds in relatively calm water. My friend used Hull huggers on his jetski and had no complaints.

 

[crisso]

Kangaroomaster
Sorry mate.The only way I know of is to get the arm up there.Or find a pal with exactly the same boat.All the best with it all.