cleats on a jon boat

Hey guys i have a jon boat and it has no cleats on it to tie an anchor rope on ot to tie to the docks.I see alot of people who have jon boats put cleats on the top round part of the sides of the boat.In other words at the top of the sides were it's usually round or flat.The cheaper jons have the round surfaces on the top which makes it more difficult to mount them.Will just reg ss screws hold the cleat in the aluminum securely?

I am trying to find the best place to mount them on my jon boat.Also i have the triangle braces in the back were i guess it's just extra support for the transom.It seems strong and i see alot of people drill holes through it and put the cleats on.They seem strong but also parts of it are flimzy and when you tie a anchor rope to it the rope will tug on it with some force.Does anyone think that will be a problem or will it hold together fine?

Basically i'm trying to find the best and strogest places to mount a cleat if anyone has any good spots.There is very limited spots to mount them on a cheaper jon boat.Any help would be great.

Re: cleats on a jon boat

I use the black nylon cleats on my jon boat, held on with stainless steel screws, nuts and backing(fender) washers. I like the black nylon because it can bend some without breaking. About 3/16" screws should do it for you. Good Luck!

Re: cleats on a jon boat

I agree w/ Robert's suggestion.

There are two uses for cleats, heavy and light. You can put SS sheet metal screws in to hold light-duty cleats--something to hold a fender, minnow bucket, etc. Seldom if ever will there be force straight-up on the cleat that may pull it loose. For a jon boat, you are not likely to moor against storm forces, either.

Heavy duty should have backing--this would be your bow cleat for being towed and anchoring, mooring, etc. The stern cleat on the "triangle" is OK and can be backed but the stronger place is in the transom itself, either inside or out (for safety reasons you do NOT tie your anchor to the stern area). Butthat triangle might fail for something heavy like towing or lifting; BTDT.

So if you can back them and use nuts and bolts, do. But it's OK to use screws for light duty cleats. With bigger boats, you want more strength.

Re: cleats on a jon boat

Agree with the above....for me, any screwed in cleat is just for temporary mooring (gas dock, launching or retrieving your trailer), hanging your bait bucket off the side, bolted in cleats for heavier work including anchoring in benign water..and the factory installed bow "handle"/eye depending, for heavy anchoring.

Mark

Re: cleats on a jon boat




Get a couple of these. They are the simplest and easiest to use on a small craft/jon boat.

Mount them so that the pulling force from the rope, is pulling perpendicular to the screws or bolts.
Easiest place to mount these is on the the side of the seat.
The rope will come up out of the "Gripper" and over the side of the gunnel.

Re: cleats on a jon boat

Same problem on all tin utilities, even v-hulls.

NEVER use screws. Use SS pan head bolts and lock nuts. Mount the cleat on the inside just below the gunnel. Put the bolt head on the outside. The nut should fit nicely on the cleat.

I use black nylon but any cleat will work. If you use galvanized ones they usually have the hole fitted for the hex nut. They work great for fenders, but you need a little longer line. Use the line gripper of post #5 for the anchor not the cleat. If you buy nylon, the gripper will match.

Re: cleats on a jon boat

I'd put the cleats on the top, bow and stern. On my 14' jon there is a 3-4" wide pad at the bow and the triangle stiffeners on the transom, that's here I mounted mine. A couple of times I've been anchored in windy conditions with 1-2' waves, and having the ability to lay the anchor line resting on the front cleat and tied/looped midship (rod holder) is safer. It keeps the bow pointed into the wind and if you need to bail, just grab the midship loop, throw it, and you are free. This also allows you to pull the anchor line from the stern and keep the bow pointed into the wind. It would be a real hassle (and probably dangerous) trying to climb over the seat to untie the bow anchor line cleat if the wind/waves picked worse.

I have mine through bolted, but no backing plates. There isn't too much force on a small jon boat. The most force would probably be short tying to the dock, and then hopping into the boat.

Re: cleats on a jon boat

fishrdan said:

I'd put the cleats on the top, bow and stern. On my 14' jon there is a 3-4" wide pad at the bow and the triangle stiffeners on the transom, that's here I mounted mine.

Click to expand...

That's fine if you have a horizontal surface to work with. But then what do you do for midship cleats to tie fenders, a minnow bucket, etc.

I always put cleats on top till I got the boat I have now. ITs so much more convenient inside, plus no interference with the cover, or my pants leg when climbing in or out....LOL.

Same with the gripper. I put 2 on - one on each side, only inches back from the bow, so I get better direction into the wind than most boats with "normal" cleat location.

Re: cleats on a jon boat

If you want to secure things like minnow buckets, fenders, etc., put in a couple eye bolts.
Then either tie on, or put a small dog collar clip on the line and clip on.

Re: cleats on a jon boat

The bow of my jon is pretty narrow and I only have the cleats spaced about 24" apart with the bow light in between them, so when I'm anchored into the wind the anchor line can only drift 12" or so. I normally don't anchor up like that, but it works pretty good.

For midship tie-down locations, I have 2 rod holders on each side of the boat. This is where I loop the anchor line going to the bow (would only take me a second to flick it off), fasten the stringer, a bait bucket could go there also. I use DriftMaster rod holders and fabbed up the bases by welding a couple of all-thread nuts to some 1/2" tube, then bolted that just below the round gunnel.

Re: cleats on a jon boat

I was going to do exactly what jim is saying,bolt it right under the gunnel on the inside of the boat on the front and back of the boat instead of the triangle transom braces.If it were to break it would have to tear the whole sode off to come out and i think it's the strongest possible place to mount them.I have round gunnels so it is hard to mount them firm and safely.Like i said if i bolt all the way through it would have to be the strongest way as now your going into the body of the boat.Also like jim said i was going to put the head of the bolt on the outside and bolt it from the inside.I was wondering if anyone else did it this way so now i feel better about it.If i really wanted to i could use the carry handles but they are on the outside and i have to climb over the seats and it will just be a pain to do.Anymore info is always good if anyone has anymore ideas please chime in,thanks for all the info so far.

Re: cleats on a jon boat

My gunnel molding has a tall enough lip so I was able to drill right thru it. Thus, I'm bolted not just thru the hull, but the molding as well.

Not a real good pic, but you can see the grippers at the bow, plus a couple of cleats and alternate mounts for the rod holders. If I put the oars in, the rod holders are in the way, so i have to move them further away from the most convenient spot.

I'm at anchor here - see the red line!

Re: cleats on a jon boat

Thats exactly the way my thought process was.That has to be the strongest possible place to put cleats except through the transom.Thanks for all the help guys i think i'm going with the pic jim has there as it makes the most sense.