Boat mooring cleat

Abstract

A boat mooring cleat, for attachment to a cement structure such as a sea wall, having a horn portion connected to a base portion by a pair of spaced apart legs, the base portion being comprised of a pair of generally right angularly disposed plates, the first of which is adapted to overlie an upper portion of the outer face of a sea wall, the second plate being adapted to overlie an outer portion of the top surface thereof. Pins are provided on the first plate for attachment through the outer face of the sea wall and holes are provided in the second plate to receive attachment means, extending through the sea wall top surface. The outer faces of the horn and first plate are generally coplanar.

Description

STATE OF THE PRIOR ART

Cleats of this general nature have been used for many years for attachment to boat decks, piers, sea walls, etc. The conventional cleat structure comprises a horn and a pair of spaced apart legs connecting the horn to a base portion which generally consists of a longitudinal bar, under the horn, having through holes adjacent the opposed ends thereof to receive attachment means such as bolts. When the cleat is attached to a structure such as a boat deck or a pier where holes can be readily drilled therethrough in registry with the holes in the base portion, conventional nut and bolt attachment means are generally used to provide a rigid, long lasting connection therebetween.

However, when it is desirable to attach a cleat of this nature to a concrete sea wall or the like, it is necessary to drill an enlarged hole in the top surface of the sea wall or cap thereof and to apply any of a variety of inserts in the drilled holes to receive a fastening means, extending through the holes in the cleat base portion.

The inserts may be provided by pouring molten lead into the holes or may consist of any of a variety of commercially available devices provided for this general purpose. When a boat is tied to a cleat, fastened to a sea wall, substantial forces are exerted on the cleat from ever changing directions, and these forces are directly transmitted to the fastening means. The substantial forces are generally caused by winds, tides, wakes of passing boats, etc., and the directions of these forces vary considerably, for instance, wind forces may be ever changing in a given plane, however, the waves created by the winds continually change the plane of the forces. Forces created by boat wakes create the same situation and the rise and fall of the tides in combination with wind forces and the forces created by boat wakes create a situation in which the forces are exerted in ever changing directions.

In fact, the line connection between the boat and the cleat generally results in continually varying forces which create a situation simulating a person grasping a firmly held object with a pair of plyers and working it in all directions in an attempt to loosen said object.

Another problem, encountered with mounting a conventional cleat to a cement structure such as a sea wall, cement pier or the like, is the location of the cleat on top of the sea wall or pier relative to the outer face or edge thereof. Generally, the cement structure includes reinforcing rods, adjacent the outer face or edge which necessitates the positioning of the cleat at least several inches inwardly thereof. As a result, the line is often subjected to chafing by the rubbing action against the edges of the sea walls or piers, especially at low tides. As a result, various types of line guards are commercially available to protect against this rubbing and chafing and if some protective device is not employed, a mooring line could be weakened to a point of breaking, resulting in damage to or destruction of the boat.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention provides a cleat, for attachment to the top of a concrete sea wall, pier or the like, for mooring or tying up a boat. The cleat is comprised generally of a conventional type of horn, rigidly connected to a base portion by a pair of spaced apart legs. The base portion consists of a pair of generally right angularly disposed plates, the first of which is vertically disposed and is engaged against a top portion of the outer vertical face of a sea wall, pier or the like and a second, horizontally disposed plate is engaged against an outer portion of the top face thereof.

The first plate portion includes an inwardly projecting pin means which is embedded in the sea wall and the second plate portion includes hole means for receiving attachment means therethrough to be embedded in the sea wall or the like at right angles to the pin means.

Therefore, one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a cleat structure, for attachment to a concrete structure such as a sea wall, pier or the like, which will withstand all stresses and strains, imposed thereon by a moored boat subjected to varying wind and tidal conditions in addition to wave forces etc.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cleat structure as above described wherein the outer faces of the horn and said first or vertical plate are generally coplanar to prevent contact between a line, extending between the boat and the cleat, and the sea wall, pier or the like.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a cleat structure for permanent attachment to a cement structure such as a sea wall, pier or the like which may be inexpensively cast in one piece.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cleat of the present invention attached to the top portion or cap of a sea wall;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the cleat, illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the cleat illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like or similar parts throughout the various views, and with particular reference to FIG. 1, the cleat of the present invention is indicated generally at 10 in a fixed relation to a sea wall 12.

The cleat 10 includes a generally conventional horn portion 14 and a pair of spaced apart legs 16 and 18 connecting to a base portion 20. As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the horn portion 14 includes a pair of oppositely extending projections 22 and 24, extending outwardly and generally upwardly respective to the legs 16 and 18, and an integrally formed central span portion 26 connecting between the legs 16 and 18.

The legs 16 and 18 connect to the base portion 20, the outer face 28 of the horn 14 geing generally coplanar with the outer face 30 of a generally vertically disposed, plate portion 32 of the base 20. A horizontal plate portion 34 is angled generally at right angles to the plate portion 32 in a manner whereby said plates 32 and 34 respectively overlie an upper, outer vertical face portion of a sea wall or the like and a portion of the top horizontal surface of the upper end or cap thereof.

With reference to FIG. 4, the vertically disposed plate 32 provides an inwardly projecting horizontal pin 36 which is adapted to be embedded in the sea wall, pier or the like. A pair of through holes 38 and 40 are provided in the horizontally disposed plate 34 for the reception therethrough of fastening means such as the bolts 42, the inner portions 44 of which are embedded in the sea wall or the like at right angles to the pin 36.

In a new construction, the pin 36 and bolt inner end portions 44 can obviously be embedded directly in the concrete and when the cleat of the present invention is being applied to an existing sea wall or the like, appropriate holes 46 and 48 are drilled respectively, by conventional means, through the inner face and top thereof.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the hole 46 is filled with an appropriate grout material 50 and the pin 36 is embedded therein. Any type of conventional inserts 52 may be applied in the pair of holes 48 to fixedly receive the bolts 42. The pin 36, therefore, extends horizontally inwardly through the front face of the sea wall 12 and the bolts 42 extend vertically, downwardly through the top face thereof at right angles to said pin 36. Consequently, the cleat of the present invention is fixed relative to the sea wall or the like in a manner so as to effectively resist stresses and strains imparted thereto from all directions as determined by winds, tides, boat wakes, etc.

Various changes and modifications can be made in the present invention without departing from the true spirit thereof. For instance, a pair of downwardly projecting pins may be substituted for the bolts 42 and a bolt may be substituted for the pin 36. For a new construction, the pin 36 may be retained as illustrated and described and a pair of pins may be substituted for the bolts 42 and 44 and for applications to existing sea walls or the like, a bolt may be substituted for the pin 36, thereby providing three inwardly projecting bolt connections to the sea wall, pier or the like.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, a typical sea wall is generally provided with a beveled upper, forward edge as indicated at 51. The connection between the vertical and horizontal plates is therefore angled as at 52 to accommodate the bevel 51, however, for installations on structures not having a beveled edge, the connection between the plates may be formed accordingly.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A boat mooring cleat for attachment to a concrete structure such as a sea wall comprising,

A. a horn having,

1. a pair of projections, extending generally outwardly and upwardly in opposed directions,

2. a generally horizontal central portion connecting between said pair;

B. a base comprising,

1. a generally vertical plate member spaced from said horn and having an outer face generally vertically coplanar with the outer face of said horn,

2. a generally horizontal plate member integral with and extending inwardly from the top of said vertical plate member, generally at right angles thereto;

C. integral connection means between said horn and base;

D. means to connect said base to the concrete structure including a horizontal, inwardly extending pin, integral with said vertical plate.

2. A boat mooring cleat as defined in claim 1 wherein said means to connect includes through hole means in said horizontal plate for vertical passage therethrough of attachment means, such as bolt means, generally at right angles to said pin.

3. A boat mooring cleat as defined in claim 1 wherein said integral connection means comprises a pair of vertical, spaced apart legs extending between the respective ends of said horizontal central portion and said base.

4. A boat mooring cleat as defined in claim 1 wherein said means to connect includes horizontal, inwardly projecting pin means, integral with said vertical plate and vertical, downwardly projecting pin means, integral with said horizontal plate.

5. A boat mooring cleat as defined in claim 1 wherein said means to connect comprises through hole means in said vertical and horizontal plates for passage therethrough of attachment means such as bolt means.

6. A boat mooring cleat as defined in claim 1 including a longitudinal beveled, integral connection between said vertical and horizontal plates.