replace cleat holes with pop up cleats?

[Andy]

The pop ups on mine are the biggest cleats on the boat. The other regular cleats are a lot smaller

Parkers are great boats, but their choice of size, and type of cleats leave a lot to be desired... (not picking on just Parkers; a lot of well-known boat manufactures scrimp on the cleat numbers and sizes)....
Some of the older Parkers have two spring-line/mid-ship cleats; that good feature was abandoned years ago. To boaters, who seldom moor to various docks, it is not as much of an issue.
We have traveled long-distance in all of our boats, and when doing so, we come across a wide variety of docking situations. In these circumstances, you cannot have too many cleats, and you can't have cleats that are 'too big'. All cleats should be large enough to accommodate two lines (properly sized lines for the given boat) on each cleat. There are circumstances where that is important... Folks who mostly trailer their boats, and almost never have the need to tie up a a variety of docks, then this issue is less important.... For the boaters who find themselves needing to moor to a variety of docks, and in adverse weather conditions, the number of cleats, and the size of the cleats is an important issue...

 

[Fischer Flyer]

Thank you for your responses. The midship cleat I am replacing is 10 inches and I am only doing this on the stbd side to streamline the washboard and reduce the 'toecatcher' for swimming access, stowing a paddle board along the rail, etc.. I appreciate the need for robust cleats and am grateful my boat has hawse pipes in the washboard aft leading to the stern cleats near deck level. Below are a couple of pictures showing the scale of the fittings as Andy suggested.
Thanks!

 

[12Parker2320]

Parkers are great boats, but their choice of size, and type of cleats leave a lot to be desired... (not picking on just Parkers; a lot of well-known boat manufactures scrimp on the cleat numbers and sizes)....
Some of the older Parkers have two spring-line/mid-ship cleats; that good feature was abandoned years ago. To boaters, who seldom moor to various docks, it is not as much of an issue.
We have traveled long-distance in all of our boats, and when doing so, we come across a wide variety of docking situations. In these circumstances, you cannot have too many cleats, and you can't have cleats that are 'too big'. All cleats should be large enough to accommodate two lines (properly sized lines for the given boat) on each cleat. There are circumstances where that is important... Folks who mostly trailer their boats, and almost never have the need to tie up a a variety of docks, then this issue is less important.... For the boaters who find themselves needing to moor to a variety of docks, and in adverse weather conditions, the number of cleats, and the size of the cleats is an important issue...

Ya I fall into that category I trailer and haven’t used those cleats for anything more than tying up to the dock or deploying a drift sock

 

[Andy]

Thank you for your responses. The midship cleat I am replacing is 10 inches and I am only doing this on the stbd side to streamline the washboard and reduce the 'toecatcher' for swimming access, stowing a paddle board along the rail, etc.. I appreciate the need for robust cleats and am grateful my boat has hawse pipes in the washboard aft leading to the stern cleats near deck level. Below are a couple of pictures showing the scale of the fittings as Andy suggested.
View attachment 29332View attachment 29333Thanks!

Thank you for sending the pictures of your cleats! And it is what I suspected. Your cleats appear to be 10 3/4 inches long. (The 'industry' probably calls them 11" cleats), and I would call them 'adequate' for this size boat (although I'd prefer 12") ... The cleats on our 2014 2520 are just 9 3/4 inches long; inadequate for a 25' boat.... On top of that, many older 25' Parkers had two spring-cleats on each side of the boat, and the farther aft one, was reachable from the cockpit. The 'one' spring-cleat on our Parker is barely reachable from the cockpit; it was not placed 'mid-ship' as it should be. It is 12"-14" too far forward.

 

[knotflying]

I don't like them. I would have preferred a regular cleat and add a rod holder and pay $100 more for the boat.

 

[Fischer Flyer]

I chose a Gemlux 8" cutting edge widebase pull-up cleat for my new stbd midship cleat. This should allow me to cover the existing fastener holes in the washboard for the cleat I am removing once I plug the holes with composite. Thanks!

 

[Fischer Flyer]

To remove the existing cleat I had to gain access to the bottom of the washboard by removing the liner trim piece which fashions the forward end of the stbd side under-rail rod holders. 3 screws go into the frame forward of the trim piece and 3 machine screws fasten this trim piece to the inboard face of the liner. Additionally, one small trim screw at deck level had to come out since it screwed into the piece I needed to remove. Thanks!

 

[Fischer Flyer]

Cleat fasteners were 5/16" machine screws and they came out easily. The cleat appeared to be bedded in something like butyl rubber which was still slightly tacky. The backing plate underneath was harder to remove; probably bedded in an adhesive. It's a 1/4" thick and just big enough to meet the cleat footprint. Thanks!

 

[Fischer Flyer]

I fashioned new backing plates out of 1/2" Coosa board leftover from another project. I made two in case I add another cleat in the future. These are longer than the original backing plate. I resin coated with epoxy before installing and added some fiberglass tape on the bottom to help take the load of the two 1/2" fasteners of the new cleat. Thanks!

 

[PKS1801]

Andy, did your boat really have hawse pipes in the bow, and pop ups in the stern?( What boat) That would be the opposite of what I would expect to see on any boat, regardless of size. I am surprised that Parker is adding them to the 1800.

 

[Fischer Flyer]

I fashioned new backing plates out of 1/2" Coosa board leftover from another project. I made two in case I add another cleat in the future. These are longer than the original backing plate. I resin coated with epoxy before installing and added some fiberglass tape on the bottom to help take the load of the two 1/2" fasteners of the new cleat. Thanks!

I prepped the underside of the washboard for the new backing plate with some coarse sandpaper. I then epoxied the Coosa backing plate in place with System Three Gel Magic structural epoxy. I am impressed with how simple it is to use this epoxy product and how strong it is. At the same time I fashioned some 3/8" bungs out of scrap Coosa and glued them into the old cleat holes with the Gel Magic as well to seal the core; yes, this boat has 1/4" plywood core in the washboard. Thanks!

 

[Andy]

Andy, did your boat really have hawse pipes in the bow, and pop ups in the stern?( What boat) That would be the opposite of what I would expect to see on any boat, regardless of size. I am surprised that Parker is adding them to the 1800.

Hi PKS1801, Yes, our previous boat (a 35' CT Sundeck Trawler that we had for 28 years), had four Hawse-pipes (actually Hawser-'holes'), plus eight 14" cleats, and one large s/s Sampson-post). The Hawser-holes were mounted 'horizontally', through the side-deck gunnels, and not vertical, as through the top of the gunnel; two were forward near the bow, and two were mid-ship (one on each side of the boat)..... These picture are NOT of our last boat, but were the only 'snips' I could find with similar Hawser-holes, and similar recessed walk-around with raised gunnels, that depicts the ones on our CT.

 

[PKS1801]

Okay, I'll buy that. I know I said 'of any size', but I guess I was thinking of a smaller class of boats. Had them on the bow of a previous vessel, but it was 390 feet, and belonged to my Uncle.

 

[Fischer Flyer]

I prepped the underside of the washboard for the new backing plate with some coarse sandpaper. I then epoxied the Coosa backing plate in place with System Three Gel Magic structural epoxy. I am impressed with how simple it is to use this epoxy product and how strong it is. At the same time I fashioned some 3/8" bungs out of scrap Coosa and glued them into the old cleat holes with the Gel Magic as well to seal the core; yes, this boat has 1/4" plywood core in the washboard. Thanks!

Final steps to this project: I drilled 9/16" and 1 1/8" holes in the washboard to locate the new cleat. The cleat is centered a little forward of the original cleat to avoid interference with the frame below. I chamfered the tops of the holes and then sealed each hole with epoxy. After masking the area I bedded the new cleat in polyurethane sealant and snugged the fasteners. I'm pleased with the result at this point and grateful for pieces of this project/upgrade process I have learned from fellow members. I hope you are able to pursue a project on your Parker that suits your needs and preferences. Thanks!