Deck Hardware

How to get at hardware when you've covered it up...

Note the inspection ports adjacent to the cleats.  They cover a
well that basically provides access the cleats studs.

As you may or may not remember, the hull is full of foam.  Now, that is all well and good if she encounters disaster but what to do if one must get to the underside of a foam filled cavity?  Easy, remove some foam... not so easy as I thought but possible.  The reason that we can't just screw our hardware into the deck is that some of these will take tremendous load that even the deepest screw thread will not hold.  These instead require backing plates or washers and nuts so that the shock load is transferred evenly across a much larger structural member or surface.  The cleats are a great example of this.  Built to hold the boat to its mooring or dock, the cleats are literally the lifeline of Miss Addy's existence if things "kick up rough" while docked.  Now to get at these we had to do some planning, create some access points for the install that essentially will only see use again if things need replacement or tightening.

Butyl Rubber under flange of cleat and beveled hole.

Another decision made was to use Butyl Rubber from Compass Marine in Maine for the deck hardware.  This basically stays pliable for years (try 30 by some claims) and Compass Marine's version is extremely pliable and sticky.  They have a great tutorial (actual a great series of them) on the proper application of the sealant.  For a quick two step summary... use a strip rolled into a cone under the flange and be sure to bevel the holes.  It truly is the trick to holding the seal.  Also, I have noted that the nuts may need follow up tightening for a day or two as the sealant spreads.

To access the bow rail nuts under each leg stud on deck and to get at the fore cleats near the cabin we had to hole saw access ports that will get 4" inspection ports.  These were carefully marked off and the foam hollowed out of the cavities using a combination of hole saws, chisels, whatever was handy.




The result is shown here. We'll let the pictures speak for themselves because it really isn't any more complicated than that...

Note the docking light under the cleat.  Pair of 50W halogens.

Anchoring Gear...

Left to right... Lewmar ProSport winch, cleats for tying off, chocks for
holding the rode in place and a Lewmar anchor roller.

Gnashing of teeth became a theme song during the decision of how to handle anchoring.  I knew that I would be doing this shorthanded and balancing on a coffee table sized foredeck with an anchor and 150 or so feet of anchor rode wrapped around my feet.  Now I plan to do this for a while and don't see myself becoming more nimble with age so I needed a solution that may be upgraded in the future but for now could assist in managing the braided line, anchor and assist in pulling all of this up and storing neatly in a anchor locker at the forepeak.

Anchor shown in stored position.  An anchor lock will prevent
its possible premature release while underway. Yes, the anchor is danged close to the stem.
A urethane keel guard strip will protect the stem from damage.  I was forced to find a happy
medium for mounting the bolts and accessing them from the anchor well.

The Lewmar Prosport anchor windlass handles the 200' of braided anchor rode and 15' of chain and is about right for a 23' boat.  It has a rocker switch for use in the pilot house and (not shown) two deck switches to control the winch from the deck.  The bow roller will "cat" or store the anchor, ready to drop.  It is a 14 lb Lewmar Delta anchor which is a good, all around type for a variety of bottom types.  The winch or windlass carries the rope or rode over a toothed wheel called a gypsy and passes it through a hole in the deck where the rode coils itself in the bottom and water can drain itself out the well scuppers.

A quick note on the well...  The well got a pair of drains or scuppers as mentioned, 1", the same as the transom that are lined with fiberglass tubing epoxied in place.  I rolled a generous coat of graphite impregnated epoxy over the entire interior of the well.  The well has multiple coats and the final graphite one was to seal around the tubes mainly.

Another view showing the winches business end, the toothed gypsy and just behind it the edge of an oblong
hole or tube that passes through a 2-1/2" hole cut in the deck.  The anchor should not pull on the windlass.
that is the reason for the cleats and chocks.  Once the anchor is dropped and proper scope let out,
one would reach across the front of the bow roller, grab a handful of  rode and cleat off, port or starboard, your choice!