stringer cleat

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Ron Mc
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stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

@rattlesnake68 and I kinda hijacked FingerMullet's great LHL report with a discussion that began around his nice stringer cleat.
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 8&t=248084

I went to work improving stringer cleats on both of my boats.
Since this one is cheap, easy, and done, I'll show it now. No holes - attached everything to the dashboard bar on my daughter's Redfish 10.
I already had the Z-cleat installed, already had the clam cleat in spares, and bought a $3 nylon fairlead on ebay.
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You put the pointy end through the fairlead at the starboard end of the dashboard. Since I have a 12' stringer here, you need to take in about half of that. Bring in the long tag and cleat the clam cleat next to the fairlead quickly. It's rock solid.
Make a quick U and double cleat at the Z-cleat.
The nice thing about this setup, aside from being handy and quick, it keeps the 6' tag of a 12' stringer neatly out of the way.
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The fairlead mount was drilling two holes in the bar on 7/8" centers, for #8 screws.
If you're wondering about the yellow marks on the dashboard, they're 15" 20" and 25".

I've got a really slick idea for using the slidetrax on my Tarpon 160, a Schaefer quck-entry cam cleat I found on sale, and tapping EZ-lok thread reducers into a pair of the Harmony slidetrax brass nuts to accept the small #8 machine screws the cleat uses. Everything is ordered, and I'll take some photos and add a post when I have it rigged.
I do have a photo of the Schaefer cam cleat, except this one is on a swivel fairlead and is a $120 part.
Mine will have a simple wire fairlead base, the same blue saddle and cam cleat, and was $24.
The whole thing is not much bigger than the fairlead in the photos above - the fastener centers are 1-1/16", and it's rated for 200-lb.
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Last edited by Ron Mc on Sun Sep 09, 2018 8:59 am, edited 2 times in total.
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kickingback
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by kickingback »

Well done. Good way to keep the tag end out of your way.
It is a little too busy for me. Putting the line through a cleat, through a straight cleat, around the Scotty holder and weave through the snake cleat.
I think you will be fine with just the snake and straight cleat avoiding the step of having to thread it through an opening that does nothing. Just a bit of feedback.
I use the two hole cleat and thread through one hole and out the other and done. Holds tight.
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Ron Mc
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

Thanks.
it's actually pretty quick, the V-cleat does all the work, and the fairlead on the end is a large target with a lot of freedom for inserting the stringer nail, but still small. So the Scotty mount base is not really an obstacle - the tag end can do whatever it wants around it - I just tucked everything in for the photo.
The Z-cleat just helps keeping the tag end out of the way. I also noticed the plastic stringer tends to slide in the Z-cleat, but definitely not in the clam cleat.

Reshot this in a more casual position for @kickingback (also with my new camera stopped down - getting used to it)
6' of stringer tag flopped out of the way
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here's the stringer stowed for quick access when you need it
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Looking forward to getting the parts together for the Schaefer cam cleat on my boat.

ps, there used to be a second Scotty mount on the bar, but had a long Scotty arm around, and mounted it to the milk crate so there's a forward and rear rod holder now. (And of course made good use of the other base on my Tarpon. )
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Here's Lou fishing from the Redfish last fall
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Last edited by Ron Mc on Fri Aug 31, 2018 6:50 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by kickingback »

:clap:
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Ron Mc
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

kickingback wrote::clap:
thanks - I can't find a :take-a-bow: emoticon
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

well, my on-sale cam cleat is back-ordered, and checking today, may be next week before it ships.
have everything else together, including my tap and EZ-loks.
Good thing, received the fairlead base today, and can confirm my centers were right. So I can get the modified slidetrax nuts ready to bolt everything together.
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There is actually more clearance here than I thought there would be.
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SWFinatic
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Re: RE: Re: stringer cleat

Post by SWFinatic »

Ron Mc wrote:Thanks.
it's actually pretty quick, the V-cleat does all the work, and the fairlead on the end is a large target with a lot of freedom for inserting the pointy end of the stringer, but still small. So the Scotty mount base is not really an obstacle - the tag end can do whatever it wants around it - I just tucked everything in for the photo.
The Z-cleat just helps keeping the tag end out of the way. I also noticed the plastic stringer tends to slide in the Z-cleat, but definitely not in the clam cleat.

Looking forward to getting the parts together for the Schaefer cam cleat on my boat.

ps, there used to be a second Scotty mount on the bar, but had a long Scotty arm around, and mounted it to the milk crate so there's a forward and rear rod holder now. (And of course made good use of the other base on my Tarpon. )
Image
Here's Lou fishing from the Redfish last fall
Image
Ron Mc I like that light. Where did you get that or is it a DIY? Doesn't look homemade.

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Ron Mc
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Re: RE: Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

SWFinatic wrote:...Ron Mc I like that light. Where did you get that or is it a DIY? Doesn't look homemade.
...
went back on Amazon and found my order from last year -Kayalite made by Kayalu
this is what I paid, of course shipping is free at this price.
https://www.amazon.com/Kayalu-Top-ratin ... ref=sr_1_1
LED, really bright, sealed, battery lasts forever
Clip the bungee into the side of your milk crate, adjust the tension, and it stands on the corner of the milk crate - have it on both boats.
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of course you can also clip it into any deck eye
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http://www.kayalu.com/k/kayalite-portab ... -light.php
Last edited by Ron Mc on Tue Aug 21, 2018 5:29 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by SWFinatic »

Thank you sir! I really like that.

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Ron Mc
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

you're welcome.

1/4-20 slidetrax nuts turned into 8-32 with EZ-lok thread reducers.
Have to crop the installed EZ-loks for slidetrax clearance - thin-wheel grinder makes short work of it.
Image
Last edited by Ron Mc on Fri Aug 24, 2018 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

Finally.
Since my Aug 9 order, been patiently waiting for the sale-price vendor to deliver. Their 5-day back-order turned to 12.
Hunting around, couldn't find anybody who had both the Schaefer fast-entry cam cleat and blue saddle together in stock.
I called Schaefer and learned they weren't making a run of these until next month, but not before I had found 3 cleats in stock at Crook & Crook - recommended vendor with good prices, great service and good shipping options. (All these are a surprise coming from Miami, notorious for shady internet vendors.) And unlike most marine vendors, they also have fishing supplies.
With their priority mail cost, I ended up paying the same as the order I canceled. The nice folks at Schaefer are sending me the blue plastic saddle gratis, but I actually may not use it.

Mounted easily and properly with two 1-1/4" 8-32 flat heads into my modified slidetrax nuts. That's with or without the wire fairlead base. The cleat comes with a base that you have to remove to replace with the fairlead base, and I believe the fairlead will stress the stringer less than squeezing it around the cleat block on a moving boat. At the very least, it will keep the cleat loaded as designed.

This thing works really slick. Point the sharp nail through the metal guide over the top or through the cam, and pull the line down - it's cleated. Can do it all with one hand, and it's instant stringer lock.
Lift the line up with a little more determination, and it's free. The blue saddle may limit the insertion freedom of the long stringer nail, so we'll see when it gets here. (I have two 1/4" longer screws the saddle would probably require)
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It's quite small and unobtrusive, only one-fourth the area of a Z-cleat, and exactly the same height. But it serves a different single purpose, and I need the Z-cleat on the other side for lines (drift sock, anchor) - though this would also make a great anchor cleat.
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makes you feel a bit salty to have such a nice functional part on your boat
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Re: stringer cleat

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The free saddle arrived in this afternoon's mail - thanks Schaefer.
After sizing it up, looked like there would be no interference with the stringer nail, so I mounted it with the 1-1/2" 8-32s.
Sure enough, doesn't affect the freedom of inserting the stringer nail - has enough freedom it doesn't have to make contact anywhere. And if you make contact, there's a stainless guide inside the saddle, so you can protect the softer materials in the cleat from the nail.

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It protects the moving parts of the cleat from impact, and it makes a bump-stop for a quick paddle rest
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Also note it's still only about the same size and just slightly lower profile than the thumbnut on a sliding scotty base
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I love rigging on smartrax - if I decide I don't like it exactly here, can loosen the screws and slide it forward.
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

Clamcleat brand and Sea Dog offer this same side entry cleat.
https://www.ebay.com/p/Sea-dog-002182-1 ... 296&chn=ps
https://www.velasailingsupply.com/clamc ... l-218-mk2/
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Side entry cleats come in port-entry (Clamcleat CL218) and starboard-entry (CL217) mirror parts.
Two nice things about this part. You don't have to slide the nail through the fairlead to seat the plastic stringer line in the cleat, but simply hook the plastic stringer line under the fairlead bar before you seat it in the cleat. The fairlead bar is also outside of the mounting holes, making installation easy. If I were installing the one above (port entry), it would be on the right side of the boat, with the fairlead bar on the outside and over flat gunwhale.
This would have worked perfectly in my first installation on the dashboard bar, but I already had the V-cleat without fairlead, so the $3 nylon fairlead was all I needed.


Doubling up the point about cleats and the new plastic stringers.
Plastic stringers don't tie off well, they won't stay in a Z-cleat.
A V-cleat (clamcleat) or cam cleat looks like the best and definitely fastest way to secure them and your catch.

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Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

it works
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

adding these two parts from Nautos - the manufacturer selling on ebay
this is even a bit less than I paid for the Schaefer parts, and both a lot less than Ronstan or Harken would cost
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NAUTOS-91026BR ... 2026731682
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NAUTOS-HT-9107 ... 2010890784
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Re: stringer cleat

Post by Ron Mc »

shopping around for rigging supplies, found a pre-made track nut that really simplifies adding a small cam cleat to tracks.
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http://sealectdesigns.com/groups/1952-t ... ers-tapped
Sea-lect makes track nuts pre-tapped to 8-32 thread, eliminating the need to use thread reducers in 1/4-20 track nuts.
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unfortunately, Hook1 is OOS on these; however, they have this Z-cleat that comes with a pair of the same nuts priced the same as they listed a bag of 10 nuts, and you only need a pair for a cam cleat.
https://www.kayakfishinggear.com/collec ... -track-kit
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