The original single cleat meant having too many lines for the size cleat and a lot of stress for the cleat.

Original Cleat

The new cleats are 6 1/2 Forespar Marelon. Backing plates were fabricated from 1 x 1/4 aluminum stock cut to 6 1/2 and drilled to center cleats. Corners were rounded to reduce stress on the fiberglass deck. Other parts were 4 - 1/4 fender washers, 4 - 1/4-20 Nylock nuts, 2 - 2 1/2 1/4-20 pan head screws(port side) and 2 - 4 1/4 pan head screws(starboard side). Cleats were bedded in silicone calk. The hardest part of the project was digging out the foam under the mounting positions to get down to the fiberglass so the backing plates could rest against it. Do this on a cool day.

Cleat and Backing Plate

The end product. The forward mounting screw on the port side is drilled 3 5/8 aft of the rear hinge screw. This was to allow the backing plate to lay flat otherwise the contour of the hinge mount get in the way. The measurement for the forward cleat screw is 21 3/4 from the rear of the stem fitting and applies to both sides. The fiberglass on the starboard side is considerably thicker than the port side so care must be taken to drill straight or the backing plate wont center underneath.

New Cleats