Pop-Up Cleat Mounting Question - Deck Thickness

[scottie4421]

Does anyone have an idea of how thick the deck is on a 2000 21i?

I bought 2 Attwood 4.5" stud-mount cleats and the deck needs to be at least a 1/2 inch thick to mount them. The cleats have an optional backing plate you can order for thinner decks, but I can't seem to locate the part at any online retailer. I'm wanting to mount them close to the rear of the boat on a part of the deck that faces upwards.

Thanks for the help!

- Scott

[Tige M.D.]

most areas that face up will be very close to 1/2" thick.
we have mouned several of these cleats on all models of tiges and have had no problems with cracks. did the cleats come with a metal plate for the back side of the cleat? if it did, that is all we use.

just a warning, be sure to check behind where ever you plan on mounting the cleats. on the starboard side tige runs a wireharness thru a pvc pipe that is glassed to the top of the gunnel. on the port side the fuel tank vent hose will be in your way. so be aware of what and where your cutting, it can become a major headache.

[scottie4421]

Thanks for the info.

I mounted the cleats this past weekend. I ended up mounting them on the very back of the boat, on the side. One is about 1 inch to the left of the gas cap, and the other is on the other side, about the same location. The reason I mounted them on the side is because the cleat is too wide to mount on the parts of the deck that face upwards.

I used Attwood Flush-Mount, Stud-Mount, Pop-up cleats. There's one thing you should know about these cleats.....the backing plate, when tightened down all the way, leaves about 1/2 inch gap, so your deck has to be at least this thick. The deck on the 2000 21i is not thick enough. So, I had to get the 'optional' backing plate for thinner decks from Attwood. I couldn't find a retailer online who carried this optional plate, so I e-mailed Attwood marine and they sent me 2 for free.

The optional backing plate still leaves about a 1/4" inch gap, and the passenger side deck on the 2000 21i is a hair thinner than that....the drivers side was thick enough...weird huh. So when I tightened the cleat down on the passenger side, it was still slightly loose. To remedy this, I had to take the backing plate that came with the cleat (not the optional one), use a metal saw, and cut some of it away so it would sit closer to the cleat body. This solved the problem, but took a ton of work to get the fit right.

I used a 1 and 3/4" hole saw to cut the initial hole. Then used a Rotozip tool to cut the rest out. If you don't know what a Rotozip is, look on Sears.com. It spins very fast like a Dremel, looks similar to a drill, but has a special bit that allows it to cut like a jigsaw....it's pretty cool. Worked great on the fiberglass.

The cleats were worth the extra work. They look grand. The finish is top notch and makes a great addition to the boat.

Hope this helps anyone who's about to cut big holes in their boat!

- Scott

[Tige M.D.]

glad it all worked out

did you have any problems with the wire harness or fuel vent hose?

[scottie4421]

Thankfully, I didn't have any problems with either. I noticed them when I searched for a good place to mount the cleats, so I avoided mounting the cleats anywhere close.

Thanks a ton for the help.