Floor mounted mainsheet cleats – is there a "best" one?

[hughsheehy]

Hi,

I know – from here and elsewhere – that whether deck or floor mounted mainsheet cleats is better is a topic of debate and where personal opinion is paramount.

But, is there at least a consensus on *which* floor mounted cleat is best for OKs? I was looking on the Mailspeed/speedsails website at the mainsheet jammers category and there are quite a few options. http://www.speedsails.co.uk/C~Mainsheet_Jammers_4621.html

However, apart from the adjustable Ronstan, it looks as if you have to pick the unit with the right height/angle and I’d guess that the height and angle is the same for pretty much all OKs. So, is there a “best” unit? I’ve become very used to central cleats over the years and I’m not adapting quickly to the deck mounted cleat so I’d like to try a central cleat – I just don’t want to waste weeks with the wrong unit.

Also, has anyone tried one of these Spinlock cleats on a floor mounted swivel instead of a camcleat? http://www.speedsails.co.uk/P~Spinlock_PXR0810T_Series_Cleat_Retro_Fit_Base_810mm_PXR0810T.html It looks as it might help avoid the “recleating” problem a little.

H

[ChrisBisc]

I have the spinlok instead of the camcleat.
It works reasonably but I find you still need to pack the cleat up on the swivel to try and get the correct angle.
I still dont have it quite right. I need quite a downward effort to engage the cleat action and find I often have to push sheet down with my foot. Once engaged it can be pulled in further without uncleating.
I also find that when I have the sheet hard in it is sometimes difficult to get upward lift to uncleat as the the swivel moves up with it (perhaps I need a new swivel or new ball bearings in it)
In general it seems better than the camcleat but still has some of the same problems

[X]

The Harken ones are the best – some of the other designs like ronstan quicky get loose in the bearings & become difficult to uncleat. You will need to mess about putting the cleat on spacers until you get the height right.
The downside of a centre jammer is that on the reaches you need to keep pulling the sheet out of the cleat to pump. But plenty of people use them so………..

[hughsheehy]

There are at least two heights for the Harken. Do you know which is best?

H

[ChrisBisc]

I believe you need the highest and even then you will need to pack/angle the cleat to get it to cleat/uncleat with mainsheet just above sidedeck

[Rhys]

I couldn’t get the right angle with the harken so I bought the adjustable Selden one back in July and so far I’ve found it very good. I did put a harken blocvk on it though as I had a spare. I think the Selsen Jammer is about £40 cheaper than the Harken too, particularly if you search online.
Rhys

[hughsheehy]

Is this the Selden one?

http://www.ldcsailing.com/selden-mainsheet-swivel-38.ir?cName=boat-parts-multi-class-hardware-swivel-jammers

[Rhys]

Yes it is. I think I found it for £65 on the web. Fox’s chandlery Ipswich was one source.
Cheers,
Rhys

[Author]

Posts