Pop up cleats vs fixed

[ATVGUY]

So are pop up cleats as strong as fixed ones . My boat will be on mooring whips, so would the constant movement/load be hard on pop up cleats ?

 

[Chris E]

personally, i don't think so, i would use a quality 4 bolt cleat with an aluminum backing plate to take the strain. i'm not sure how the pop cleat would hold with the upper strain vs, the side strain they are designed for.

 

[ATVGUY]

Thanks , my thinking is like yours . The pop up ones just look nicer ,but I think the constant movement would wear them out.

ATVGUY

 

[Chris]

I've never had them on a boat myself, but I would think they're only really useful for someone who uses the cleats infrequently. Like someone who mostly trailers their boat and just throws a couple of lines on to keep the boat in place at the launch ramp. Then once they're finished at the ramp and ready to go, they then just completely remove the lines and lower the cleats.

Because I'm a cottager and like to go out for frequent and quick trips, I personally just prefer to have permanent lines mounted on fixed cleats on both sides of my boat, so I can quickly tie up wherever I end up - which for me would obviously render the pop up cleats fairly useless.

-Chris

 

[Fun Times]

Also in my opinion some of the pop up cleats just seem smaller making it harder to get your docking lines on, Also they do get jammed up often making it hard to pop them out, Sometimes to free them up you need to either lube them up, Or get behind them to adjust the tension. That is the bad part about them, The good part is they look nice and clean and when not in use your shorts will not get caught and all wrapped up ripping your shorts while getting in and out of the boat.

 

[ATVGUY]

I've never used them before and your points are valid.The ease of hooking them up is a very good point .The last thing you need when parking the boat is fiddling with the cleats and if there are waves it would even be harder. So if they don't pop up like they are suppose to and the boat is smashing against the dock, no one will notice those pretty pop up cleats for all the damage to the hull.

Thanks
ATVGUY