New stern cleats for sheets and drogue

Today I completed the installation of two new Schaeffer stern cleats to use for sheets and drogue anchoring. Gulf 32's come standard with stern cleats for dock lines, but they are down below the level of the coaming and not able to be used for sheets.

Since I have added a storm jib to our sail inventory I needed a way to free up the winch for use with either the genoa or storm jib sheets, or, for that matter, any future headsails I might have. I ordered these stainless steel cleats from defender and they are really solid. They use a 5/16 inch bolt, which is also good sized. I ordered the necessary 4 inch long bolts from McMaster Carr, my source for all such generic hardware supplies as they have EVERYTHING and are consistently cheaper.

Anyway, the deck coaming here is made from about 1/3 inch of solid fiberglass, then maybe 1/2inch of plywood, and then a thin fiberglass layer to make a sandwich. I overdrilled the holes to 1/2 inch and filled with thickened epoxy. Today I drilled the holes out to 5/16 and placed a roll of butyl tape around the bolts as the sealant to the teak deck.

Underneath all of this I placed an oversized 1/4 inch stainless steel plate as the backing plate. It is probably 3 inches by 8 inches. Plenty of force distribution.

Installing the backing plate and associated washers and such is quite an ordeal as I have to wedge myself wholly sideways into the stern lazarette and jam one arm into the area while holding all the washers and nuts in that hand. I used butyl tape to get the stainless plate to stay attached to the underside of the coaming ( a good trick) and then holding the fender washer, a smaller washer, a lock washer and the nut all in one hand. I put them all on one at a time. No easy feet to maneuver all these pieces in one hand while hanging virtually upside down and not drop anything. I dropped many things, many times. I'd have to extricate myself with great effort, reach down and retrieve the dropped item, and try again. Oh the patience boat repair requires.

Now that it is all done, I am quite pleased. It will allow me to easily tie off the genoa sheets to switch the winch to storm jib use, and I aligned them properly to provide a fair lead to any drogue being towed behind the boat. The photo above shows the angle the lines would take to a drogue. I will add chafe protection to the drogue lines where it crosses over the coaming at the stern.