Mount stern cleats, w/hawse pipes, w/out nuts on outside??

[seabob4]

That could look nice, Ryan.  You'd definitely want to use some loctite on those threads, though...

[wingtime]

What if you just used carriage bolts and run them from the outside in? Another option is a barrel nut. It's basically a short threaded tube with a screw head on the end. The threaded tube part would recess into the transom leaving the only the screw head on the outside.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... o?pid=1451

[kaptainkoz]

I Like that barrel nut. That's really clean looking. I didn't know they existed.

[seabob4]

Well Ryan certainly has some options to mull over.  I like the barrel nut too...excellent find, Bruce!!  

[Georgie]

X2 on the barrel nut!    Deluxe solution!!

[SaltH2OHokie]

Well Ryan certainly has some options to mull over.  I like the barrel nut too...excellent find, Bruce!!  

Yeah, holy cow...thank y'all for the brainstorming session!  

Of the various thoughts, I'm also liking the "barrel nut" because it strikes a good balance between smooth transom and work required...Ironically, we use them all the time at work, only with a smooth head and the portion of the shaft just below the head is splined, rather than #2 Philips shown above.  Just never would have translated their use over to the boat without Bruce.  

For the record, we call them sex bolts.  No idea if that's improper...but that's all I've ever heard them called.  Use them on commercial door hardware, some casework applications, etc.

Thanks again!  Going to order a few 1/4-20 and give it a go.

[CLM65]

Lots of good ideas here.  If you can find the sex bolts (gotta admit, that sounds better than barrel nuts) in 316, that would be the ticket.  18-8 is more like 304, and not as corrosion resistant as 316.  Worst case, order extras and swap them out if they start to rust.

[kaptainkoz]

The challenge i see with the barrel nuts over the tee nuts is screw length will be critical. With the tee nut you can crank it down and cut off the excess.  Can't do that with the barrel nut although I definitely like the look of the Phillips barrel nut over the tee nut.

[wingtime]

I've used barrel nuts on other projects and they work great.  I just posted that link simply because it was the first one that came up on a search.  I'm sure McMaster or Fastenal has other choices.  I think a sex bolt is different since it is intended to locked into the substrate and not be turned.  I have seen the barrel nuts with flathead, torx or hex drives.

[gran398]

Knew ten heads were better than one! Good thinking fellas

[seabob4]

Knew ten heads were better than one! Good thinking fellas

A lot of smart folks here, Scotty...  

[RickK]

Definitely don't forget the lock-tite. I'm sure they will get loose over time without it. (Of course, you probably already thought of that tho   )

[SaltH2OHokie]

Definitely don't forget the lock-tite. I'm sure they will get loose over time without it. (Of course, you probably already thought of that tho   )

Naw, I don't need Loctite.  As long as I tell myself "you have to be able to loosen that bolt in the future" as I'm tightening it, I positively will gall the threads beyond ever loosening again.

Conversely, if I squirt mil-spec, super-duty, red Loctite all over it, not only will it not gall, but it will back itself out when I least want it to.  

[SaltH2OHokie]

I want to add: Thanks again for all of the replies, but the more I think about it...if I get to watch my wife fall into the water every few days, and laugh on the inside, I might just tell her that I'm still thinking about how to mount cleats in the stern  :twisted:

[RickK]

You're a sick man Ryan