Funny Cleats!

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Dune

Oh, and I believe that the other end is the 'purchase'. Something about that rings a bell.

"purchase" is used to describe the mechanical advantage of a block and tackle - I haven't heard it used as you describe.

[Highlander40]

Even worse than poor cleat skills are the folks who don't know a spring line from their elbow. Even better is the practice of tying three or four lines to one cleat. Spread the load!
Anyway, my wife likes a modified flemish coil. Lay out the coil in an oval shape. Then slide the middle part over or under the oposite side. It looks like a braided bread. Works best with braided line though. Kind of yachty, or is that snaughty? Figured I would say it first.

[AK_sailor]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

How about those that are simply a loose eye with no tension? What about those that forget to properly do the clean in general, and just do loopdie loos?

Statisticians refer those with a loose eye, or those where someone just does a bunch of random miscellaneous wraps and knots around the cleat as the "Monte Carlo method" of cleating. There is some small but finite (i.e. greater than zero) probability that it will hold.

Of course that can lead to electrolysis, in addition to osmosis.

[scotte]

Originally Posted by Highlander40

Even better is the practice of tying three or four lines to one cleat.

How about marinas with too few cleats and way too small for any reasonable sized docklines? Maybe I'm just unlucky, but that's the way it always seems to go for me, so I end up with a bunch of big lines going to too-few, too-small cleats; it's not always the boat owner's fault - and marina's aren't too kind about 'modifying' their docks :-)

[Dune]

FWIW, I send the eye to the cleat, and keep the bitter end on my boat. I coil the remaining line, pass one loop through and around the coil a couple times, run the loop around the lifeline and over the top of the coil. Keeps it up and out of the way, out of the moisture, and by gosh it just looks shipshape.

[Dune]

One last thing. If I am staying for a bit, I always put my line on the cleat first. That way, if someone has to go they won't have to untie your line to cast off theirs.

[bstreep]

The primary advantage to the bitter end on the dock cleat is that when pulling into the slip, all one needs to do is grab the eye with a boat hook and drop it on the cleat. To us, this is criticial, as it always blows like mad in Corpus Christi - snagging that first springline makes for a perfect landing.

[Little Rascal]

Aw, I thought this thread was about funny novelty cleats, like maybe ones shaped like different stuff... I guess there's not much else they could be shaped like without compromising function tho.

[Paul Elliott]

How about this one?

(Taken from a Sailing Anarchy discussion: zac is bac - Sailing Anarchy Forums)

Also, and I wish I had taken a picture, I recently saw an interesting cleat on the pontoon of a seaplane. It was very nicely streamlined.

[Dune]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

Here are some cleats just from my one dock. I didn't walk the marina. I just took photos of the cleats of a few boats right next to mine. Lordy... lordy!

Post some of your own if you have them. No posed or fake shots, please. Just walk over to your neighbor's boat and snap a shot.

PS: The last one is mine. I know flemmishing the line isn't always the approved method, but I like it.

Sometimes when I pull up to a mess like the top left photo, I just figure anyone that would tie up like that must not want their boat and I untie the whole mess, throw it in the water, and tie mine up to an empty cleat.

[anjinsan]

after a hitch or a not...its the working end.

[anjinsan]

I meant knot..heheheh keyboards...they cant spell

[FSMike]

One thing about flemishing - it may be ok on a dock but after a period of time it can leave a nasty stain on your deck. Darn thing can be hard to clean off too.

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by FS Mike

One thing about flemishing - it may be ok on a dock but after a period of time it can leave a nasty stain on your deck. Darn thing can be hard to clean off too.

Knot if you lift and shift when washing down.

Leaving it in place is a bit like sweeping dust under the carpet.

[FSMike]

Talbot -
That's good advice if you're not out of town for two months like I was.