Where to put Cleats and how to tie down

[buzcoats]

I just bought two moomba pop up cleats and not sure where to put them. I think most of the times I've seen them they put them just ahead of the tower legs in the front.
My question is where is the best location? Could it be towards the back? How do you guys tie your boats down now? I do a lot of boating on the river and when we dock it there is some barge traffic and it really sends a lot of waves to the dock and bangs the boats around. I want to tie it down so it wont be banging against the dock.

[kaneboats]

A thread I started a couple years ago asking these questions recently came back up a week or two ago. I posted a pic from last summer showing some different locations including where I put mine when I installed them on the O/B and where Maxpower's factory ones are. Here's a link to the page with the pics:

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?t=5834&page=2

[Ian Brantford]

On my XLV, the cleats were installed just behind the tower's front legs. This is okay.

If the cleats were less expensive, I would put another set in the middle and nearer the bow too, to accommodate various docks. I do not like using the tower legs or grab bars for tying. For longer lines, you have to thread them through the spliced loop every time they come on or off. For fenders, I use short spliced loops and so tying them isn't viable. Cleats do the job much better.

I wish that the pop-up cleats popped up a little further. They fit a 3/8" rope and a 1/4" fender loop, but I originally had thicker dock lines that were a pain to fit.

I originally had smaller fenders. I now use a much larger fender (8" or 10"?) in the front cleat. I found that, being positioned where the bow starts to narrow, a smaller one would sometimes ride up onto the fairly low dock as the boat nudged against it.

Since you mentioned that there is a lot of wave action where you tie up, you might want to try non-traditional items:

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=87170&pdesc=Dockmate_Hinged_Fender&str=flat+fender&merchID=4005

http://www.jumpingballs.com

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=87167&pdesc=Dockmate_Low_Profile_Rafting_Fender&aID=602B1&merchID=4006

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=37166&pdesc=Perimeter_Flat_Fender_8W_x_2D_x_24L&aID=602B1&merchID=4006

[moombabound]

Re: Waves banging the boat around:
If you are on the wake side of the dock, the best way to protect it from the dock is with Mooring Whips.
If you are inside (beach side) of the dock and the waves are pushing your boat away from the dock, you're laughing. This is the best of the two scenarios. Simply use bungee dock lines to take the stress off the cleats (and the dock).

Re: Positioning:
May depend on what model you have, and might be best to work through the dealer or SC on this. For example, on my Outback V, the rear cleat is mounted on the top of the deck, not the side. Not sure why they do that (neither Malibu nor Mastercraft do that), as it causes the tarp to interfere moreso with the cleat than a side mount, and causes the doc line to rub on the deck. Guessing it might be a structural integrity issue?

[buzcoats]

Guys, thanks a lot for the info. Looks like I have a bunch of options. I just can't stand the thought of my boat banging against the dock.