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clamcleat racing cl220

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RonE
1st Mate

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USA
37 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/26/2008 : 04:59:40

Thinking of replacing the stock cleats on my boat used for jib sheets. Anyone comment or have experience with the clamcleat racing major cl220 and best price and place to buy from? RonE

RonE

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2008 : 09:43:27

I used clamcleats for the jibsheets on my C25, and loved them. I don't know the brand, but bought them at WM. I started with plastic ones, but later changed to aluminum ones, because the plastic ones lose their ability to "bite" the line as the ridges wear.

I preferred them over cam cleats, because you don't have to pull them forward through the cams in order to get them in position to hold the line. All you have to do is lay the line on the teeth and they'll grab the line. To release, you just lift the line, and it's free. For that reason, they're much easier to use when in a hurry, or when short-handed. You do have to be careful where you lay the line, because, if it even accidentally falls into the clam cleat, it'll grip.

If you lay the line in the teeth of the clamcleat, and then pull it through to tension it, the line will "saw" at the teeth, eventually wearing down their ability to bite the line. If you pull on the line to tension it, and then, when you're done, lay the line in the teeth, the teeth won't wear so quickly. In any case, the aluminum cleat should last quite a long time. IMHO, the plastic ones are only good for about a season or two.

Generally, clam cleats don't hold quite as securely as cam cleats. In light air they hold fine, but in stronger winds, as the tension on the jib sheet increases, you need to put an extra wrap or two on the winch, to reduce some of the load on the cleat.

When you mount your clam cleats, you should mount them on a teak block, that will elevate them and orient them toward the winch, so that they'll grip the line properly.

I have another suggestion. The old horn cleats are very inconvenient to use, and I never found a use for them, except to occasionally use them to tie up the boat at a dock. I'd suggest replacing the horn cleats with jam cleats. I have them on my present boat, and find them very useful for singlehanding the boat. The problem with clam cleats is that they might not be angled so that they are convenient to wherever you're sitting when you're singlehanding the boat. If you have jam cleats, you can trim the jib sheet, give it a quick wrap around the jam cleat, and your hands are free. The jam cleats on my current boat are a big help, because I'm behind the wheel, and it would be hard to reach clam cleats. I'm not sure whether jam cleats would be as useful for a tiller steered boat, but it seems to me that anything would be preferable to horn cleats.

Edited by - Steve Milby on 08/27/2008 09:47:49

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2008 : 15:28:44

Steve,

I had jam cleats on my first boat and currently have the original plain old horn cleats on my C25. I use these horn cleats as if they were jam cleats by puttng on an extra round turn or two and giving the line a little tug to lock it in. To disengage it from the cleat, I simply just spin the line off as if I were spinning it off of a winch. I've been doing this for six years of so and I can't recall the line ever slipping from the horn cleat.

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2008 : 16:11:26

Good idea, Don! It sounds like what you're doing is jamming the line between the horn and a wrap of line, and getting the same effect as a jam cleat. That's a lot cheaper than buying new metal cleats. I needed a cleat for a new spinnaker halliard on my mast recently and found that they cost about $30.00!

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2008 : 21:30:17

On my C-25 (pardon the reference to the wrong boat again), as an alternative to using risers (teak or whatever) for the cam cleats I added, I used the factory horn cleats as "hooks" to lead the sheets from the winches to the cam cleats. I just layed the sheet under one horn and then snapped it into the cam--not a complex operation. I positioned the cams to work that way. I'm sure the same could be done with a clam cleat. (I also ran the sheet bitter ends through the horn cleat bases and put stopper knots on them--another use for the horns.)

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.