Drilled a hole in my ski... (Installed a pop-up cleat)..

[Coastiejoe]

Had time on my hands today so installed my cleats...

Marked and drilled main hole then the holes for the screw. If you do this, drill the holes for the screws large enough for the screws to pass through without having to thread through, this will keep the fiberglass from splitting and cracking.



Then I put a 3/4 block of Red Oak on the back side and allowed the screws to thread into the hardwood. I did this so that the fiberglass was sandwiched and would help to cover the load better..

End result looks like this...

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Interesting idea.
What's the holding strength for this pop-up?
Cost?
Where did you buy it?

 

[Coastiejoe]

The package does not list an actual rating. But I would comfortably say the hull would fail before the cleat. It is a solid shaft of metal that pops up inside the part that is bolted to the hull.

I bought them from Overtons.

My intention with them is to use at docks when stopping for lunch and what not. There is no good way to tie off the front of the ski, this resolves that issue.

 

[horseguy]

It is always awkward to tie up at a dock , thanks for the info I'm going to order enough for our touring crew

 

[horseguy]

Thanks Coastiejoe for the tip !

 

[Hawk388]

I like this idea. I use a docking rope with a snap ring on the rear of the ski and snap it onto the tow loop. But the front swings around if I don't use another dock rope around the handlebars. But when some clueless idiot has no idea what a wake zone is, it has always worried me having that rope around the handlebars.

It's a really smart move to put that backing material in there the way you did. Although, personally, I'll buy a small, plastic type cutting board and then trim it to fit the underside. That way, it will never rot.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Plastic cutting board is a good idea.