Fitting amidship cleats

[Curryhouse]

Hi,
Has any one fitted cleats amidships on a Top Hat? Primary reason for me thinking about it is to assist in docking when sailing single handed.

Cheers, Neil

[Shaun]

Absolutely Neil, use my midships cleats all the time, they are very handy for docking, I find them really handy to tie the fore and aft springers too, and just to use as strapping points to tie things on deck such as the dinghy and whisker pole.
Mine are raised up on timber blocks so the line doesn't run hard over the gunwhale.
cheers

[Curryhouse]

Hi Shaun, thanks for your reply. Ease of docking was the main reason I was thinking of fitting them. An additional tie point is a bonus as you noted. I crew on a 36 footer and the springs are invaluable when the boat returns to the marina. Any chance of a photo or two when you're next on Blue Moon or is there a photo already in the gallery?

Cheers, Neil

[Shaun]

Hi Neil, I couldn't find a photo, but you can see the midships cleat from about 3:20 in this video.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LmNp_wZZCwI
Cheers

[Curryhouse]

Thanks Shaun. The video gave me a good idea of the fitting and the benefit of raising the cleat.
Enjoyed the full video. I didn't appreciate how different your junk rig was to a typical TH.

Cheers, Neil