Zig Cleat
A zig cleat holds a line by jamming it into a tapering zig-zag channel. Pull the line in and it grips; lift it out and it releases. No moving parts, no spring, nothing to corrode or seize.
Where It Earns Its Place
The classic job is an anchor trolley. You want the trolley line locked wherever you last set it, and you want to change it one-handed without looking, because your other hand has a rod or a paddle in it. A zig cleat does exactly that.
It also suits any adjustable rigging you retension regularly — a deck line you snug up, a tarp guy on a camp, a hauling line on a cart.
Size and Line Capacity
• Approximately 2-3/8" long
• Takes line up to 1/4"
• Injection-moulded nylon
• Two #10 oval-head fasteners
One caution: Sea-Lect also makes a larger Zig Zag Cleat at about 3-1/2" that takes line up to 3/8". The names are nearly identical and the parts are not interchangeable in a given spot. If you are replacing one, measure the old cleat and the screw spacing before you order.
Fitting a Zig Cleat
Orientation matters. Mount it so the line enters the wide end and jams toward the narrow end in the direction of the load. Fitted backwards it will not hold, and you will be convinced the cleat is faulty.
Bed it in marine sealant, and on a plastic hull use machine screws through well nuts rather than self-tappers. A cleat takes a sustained pull, which is exactly the load that works a self-tapper loose in polyethylene over a season.
Details
• Zig cleat, injection-moulded nylon
• Approximately 2-3/8" long
• Line capacity up to 1/4"
• Two #10 oval-head fasteners
On the hardware board at our Clearwater shop.
