First boat - proper place for dock cleats?

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GrandpaMike

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Hello everyone! New member and my first boat. Starting kind of late in life and have a lot to learn so I would appreciate some advice.

I'm not looking to make major modifications but have some basic questions. I bought an older Lund WC-16.

The clears for the dock lines are attached to the front of the front and back seat on the port side. That seems odd to me and I'm wondering if they are in the right place.

I picked up two more for the starboard side in case I ever have to tie up on that side but want to mount them in the right place.

Second question is: if they are supposed to be mounted to the side of the boat and not the seat, as I suspect, what is the proper way to mount them? Bolts? Rivets?

Thank you!
-Mike-
091c019d92da1202078d4545590799b9.jpg
37e9117ebe85a2d421f218a7f97a62a8.jpg


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GrandpaMike said:
Hello everyone! New member and my first boat. Starting kind of late in life and have a lot to learn so I would appreciate some advice.

I'm not looking to make major modifications but have some basic questions. I bought an older Lund WC-16.

The clears for the dock lines are attached to the front of the front and back seat on the port side. That seems odd to me and I'm wondering if they are in the right place.

I picked up two more for the starboard side in case I ever have to tie up on that side but want to mount them in the right place.

Second question is: if they are supposed to be mounted to the side of the boat and not the seat, as I suspect, what is the proper way to mount them? Bolts? Rivets?

Thank you!
-Mike-
091c019d92da1202078d4545590799b9.jpg
37e9117ebe85a2d421f218a7f97a62a8.jpg


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And a typo... Cleats... Not clears. Sorry. Going to have to learn how to edit posts.

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Man that’s a good looking boat! Up on the rail is handy for tying to a dock but can be a pain because they will snag anything else that comes near. Maybe that’s what the previous owner was thinking. I tie mine with a cleat on the bow cap and use the handles on the corner caps. Get some dock bumpers for that pretty boat!


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Also, it is difficult to mount them firmly on narrow gunnels and they probably didn't want to drill holes through the side of the hull. Hence the placement on the seat boxes. I used to just tie it off to that brace going from the seat to the side of the hull.
 
Weldorthemagnificent said:
Man that’s a good looking boat! Up on the rail is handy for tying to a dock but can be a pain because they will snag anything else that comes near. Maybe that’s what the previous owner was thinking. I tie mine with a cleat on the bow cap and use the handles on the corner caps. Get some dock bumpers for that pretty boat!


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Thank you for the reply! I did grab a couple bumpers too. Maybe I'll tie them to those cleats on the seats and put new ones where you suggested.

Thanks again!
-Mike-

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LDUBS said:
Also, it is difficult to mount them firmly on narrow gunnels and they probably didn't want to drill holes through the side of the hull. Hence the placement on the seat boxes. I used to just tie it off to that brace going from the seat to the side of the hull.
Thank you! I was wondering aboutthat, but was looking for rod holders I could attach to those because I can't figure out where else to put rod holders.

Thanks LDUBS,
-Mike-

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58c6f4e0754c2ba039280cc04e9faa73.jpg
1d40545140bcc454f8b45a466d97d2a1.jpg

This is what I did for rod holders on the seat braces. Bought a pair of 6 place holders at Walmart. Cut them in half and drilled a cross hole on the cut end for a zip tie. Use a rivet or screw up top and zip tie on bottom. Worked great for me.


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I noticed in your pictures that your battery is not covered. Do you have a box for it? You are required to keep the battery covered in case something falls on it and shorts the battery posts which could start a fire.
 
More often than not, I will drag my boat up on shore before I tie up to a dock. I might be able to count on one hand the amount of times I have tied my 14' Starcraft to a dock over the 15 years I've owned it. That said, I see nothing wrong with the current cleats and how they are placed on the seats. It's a light boat and as long as you aren't leaving the boat unattended on a dock overnight or anything, I'd say the cleats now will work just fine.
 
Scott F said:
I noticed in your pictures that your battery is not covered. Do you have a box for it? You are required to keep the battery covered in case something falls on it and shorts the battery posts which could start a fire.
He has the positive post cover boot attached to the wiring, so that "should" be good. I don't remember, but he may also need the black boot post cover as well to be up to code. Either way, those post covering boots qualify as legal coverings for marine batteries.

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Striper57 said:
Scott F said:
I noticed in your pictures that your battery is not covered. Do you have a box for it? You are required to keep the battery covered in case something falls on it and shorts the battery posts which could start a fire.
He has the positive post cover boot attached to the wiring, so that "should" be good. I don't remember, but he may also need the black boot post cover as well to be up to code. Either way, those post covering boots qualify as legal coverings for marine batteries.

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That may work for the wingnut connection but the large lead posts are still an issue.
 
Weldorthemagnificent said:
58c6f4e0754c2ba039280cc04e9faa73.jpg
1d40545140bcc454f8b45a466d97d2a1.jpg

This is what I did for rod holders on the seat braces. Bought a pair of 6 place holders at Walmart. Cut them in half and drilled a cross hole on the cut end for a zip tie. Use a rivet or screw up top and zip tie on bottom. Worked great for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I like that! Looks nice and clean. Thanks for the tip!

-Mike-

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Scott F said:
I noticed in your pictures that your battery is not covered. Do you have a box for it? You are required to keep the battery covered in case something falls on it and shorts the battery posts which could start a fire.
Thanks. I appreciate you helping keep me out of trouble. Like I said, I have a lot to learn, but I did take a boater safety course and learned that. So I bought a battery box, but the wooden platform it is currently sitting on is not mounted, so I need to mount that first, then I'll put the battery box on it and strap it down.

The cables are very long and so is the fuel line so both the battery and fuel tank will be up front to shift some weight forward. I figured I would mount the toward the port side to offset some of my weight when I'm alone in the boat. Let me know if that logic is flawed, though.

Thanks again!!
-Mike-

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[/quote]
That may work for the wingnut connection but the large lead posts are still an issue.[/quote]

Those are usually designed to cover both the wingnut and the post, but upon further inspection of the picture, the shallow end on the his boot may not cover the post well enough, so I agree with you on that being the larger issue. I would personally suggest a box too since the battery is located in the open. I use the boots on batteries located in closed compartments and boxes when on the deck.
 
Mounting towards the port side would be fine for running the boat, but you have to think about when you stop and fish what that weight will do. Since the wooden box isn't mounted yet, I'd say you should test it in different positions and see which works best.

Btw, that is a beautiful little boat.

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GrandpaMike said:
Weldorthemagnificent said:
58c6f4e0754c2ba039280cc04e9faa73.jpg
1d40545140bcc454f8b45a466d97d2a1.jpg

This is what I did for rod holders on the seat braces. Bought a pair of 6 place holders at Walmart. Cut them in half and drilled a cross hole on the cut end for a zip tie. Use a rivet or screw up top and zip tie on bottom. Worked great for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I like that! Looks nice and clean. Thanks for the tip!

-Mike-

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X2. Nice job on the rod holders.
 
Striper57 said:
Mounting towards the port side would be fine for running the boat, but you have to think about when you stop and fish what that weight will do. Since the wooden box isn't mounted yet, I'd say you should test it in different positions and see which works best.

Btw, that is a beautiful little boat.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
Thanks! I had been watching sites for a while and when this one popped up it looked like what I wanted.

Private sale but the seller works at a boat dealership that sells BIG boats. He cleans up little boats and sells them on the side. I picked it up from the dealership lot. Really nice guy, has even stayed in touch with me since. He even gave me some things since it was my first boat (4 life preservers, a throwable, anchor and rope, etc.).

He rewired all the lights, so I shouldn't have any problems with those. They stripped the paint and acid etched the aluminum, then repainted it in their paint booth.

When I came to see/buy it, he put a compression guage on it to show me. Both cylinders we're right about 115 and we ran the engine in a tank since everything is still frozen here, shifted forward and reverse and it ran really well.

I paid $2,600 for boat, motor, and trailer which was about what I was looking to spend and "seems" reasonable for this boat. (Based on my limited knowledge and others I looked at.)

I feel pretty good about the purchase and I have to agree it's pretty! Can't wait to get it out.

One more question...Does battery box have to be fastened to the boat? I didn't think I could move it around to try because I thought it had to be mounted/attached. It would be nice to be able to try some different spots.

Thanks again for the advice!
-Mike-

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Eventually you will need to mount it or at least strap it in place, but I'd personally say you should be fine to test it out first. As long as it won't fall over or bounce around too much if it isn't strapped down, I would test it before drilling unnecessary holes in that beauty.

I agree, I think you came out on top with that deal, especially with the new paint job.

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GrandpaMike, congrats on your first boat!
Its a nice setup.
BTW, I still have my first boat. Its been 9 years and I'm still happy with it.
I have a 16 foot semi V style like yours, but a Crestliner.
I have the clamp on seats as well. One piece of advice. Make sure they're secured else they
tend to slide or come loose on you, which is not safe.
I've seen some use nylon straps anchored to the bench side. I've came up with my own method.
Either way, make sure they're tied down.

Also, I have a little johnny 25 like that as well. Nice motor.

Enjoy the new rig! and update your location.

jasper

GrandpaMike said:
Striper57 said:
Mounting towards the port side would be fine for running the boat, but you have to think about when you stop and fish what that weight will do. Since the wooden box isn't mounted yet, I'd say you should test it in different positions and see which works best.

Btw, that is a beautiful little boat.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
Thanks! I had been watching sites for a while and when this one popped up it looked like what I wanted.

Private sale but the seller works at a boat dealership that sells BIG boats. He cleans up little boats and sells them on the side. I picked it up from the dealership lot. Really nice guy, has even stayed in touch with me since. He even gave me some things since it was my first boat (4 life preservers, a throwable, anchor and rope, etc.).

He rewired all the lights, so I shouldn't have any problems with those. They stripped the paint and acid etched the aluminum, then repainted it in their paint booth.

When I came to see/buy it, he put a compression guage on it to show me. Both cylinders we're right about 115 and we ran the engine in a tank since everything is still frozen here, shifted forward and reverse and it ran really well.

I paid $2,600 for boat, motor, and trailer which was about what I was looking to spend and "seems" reasonable for this boat. (Based on my limited knowledge and others I looked at.)

I feel pretty good about the purchase and I have to agree it's pretty! Can't wait to get it out.

One more question...Does battery box have to be fastened to the boat? I didn't think I could move it around to try because I thought it had to be mounted/attached. It would be nice to be able to try some different spots.

Thanks again for the advice!
-Mike-

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
jasper60103 said:
GrandpaMike, congrats on your first boat!
Its a nice setup.
BTW, I still have my first boat. Its been 9 years and I'm still happy with it.
I have a 16 foot semi V style like yours, but a Crestliner.
I have the clamp on seats as well. One piece of advice. Make sure they're secured else they
tend to slide or come loose on you, which is not safe.
I've seen some use nylon straps anchored to the bench side. I've came up with my own method.
Either way, make sure they're tied down.

Also, I have a little johnny 25 like that as well. Nice motor.

Enjoy the new rig! and update your location.

jasper

GrandpaMike said:
Striper57 said:
Mounting towards the port side would be fine for running the boat, but you have to think about when you stop and fish what that weight will do. Since the wooden box isn't mounted yet, I'd say you should test it in different positions and see which works best.

Btw, that is a beautiful little boat.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
Thanks! I had been watching sites for a while and when this one popped up it looked like what I wanted.

Private sale but the seller works at a boat dealership that sells BIG boats. He cleans up little boats and sells them on the side. I picked it up from the dealership lot. Really nice guy, has even stayed in touch with me since. He even gave me some things since it was my first boat (4 life preservers, a throwable, anchor and rope, etc.).

He rewired all the lights, so I shouldn't have any problems with those. They stripped the paint and acid etched the aluminum, then repainted it in their paint booth.

When I came to see/buy it, he put a compression guage on it to show me. Both cylinders we're right about 115 and we ran the engine in a tank since everything is still frozen here, shifted forward and reverse and it ran really well.

I paid $2,600 for boat, motor, and trailer which was about what I was looking to spend and "seems" reasonable for this boat. (Based on my limited knowledge and others I looked at.)

I feel pretty good about the purchase and I have to agree it's pretty! Can't wait to get it out.

One more question...Does battery box have to be fastened to the boat? I didn't think I could move it around to try because I thought it had to be mounted/attached. It would be nice to be able to try some different spots.

Thanks again for the advice!
-Mike-

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Thank you! I will figure out where to update that! Maple Grove, MN is home for now. Hoping the ice melts before June but we're in a Winter storm warning now with a range of 6" to 18" of snow predicted. Ugh!! This winter is really hanging on. Maybe it will kill some mosquito larvae!

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