LESSON C: CLEATS

You will find cleats attached to the deck and the mast and boom of almost any sailboat. (Cleats are also found on flagpoles.) A cleat is for securing (tying) a line. Cleats come in different sizes and shapes. The most common shape - the standard cleat - is shown on our "knots" page along with the standard way to tie a line to a cleat.

You will also find other varieties of cleats on sailboats: jam cleats, cam cleats and clam cleats are the most popular variations. These do the same job as a standard cleat, but are designed for faster securing and faster release of the line.

A jam cleat looks a lot like a standard cleat, except that it is not symmetrical. One horn is designed to hold the line once it has been wrapped under the other horn and pulled tight. This makes crossing the line over the top of the cleat and making a hitch unnecessary.



On to Lesson D: Winches -->