Secure Your PWC To Any Dock…
EZE DOCKER portable dock cleats – photo © 2017 by Craig Nicholson
Related: Dock Like A Pro
I’ve needed portable dock cleats for years as part of my PWC riding gear. Unfortunately, I didn’t even know they existed until recently. Better late than never. Sure, I’ve learned to dock like a pro on my PWC adventures. But I remember numerous times these handy devices would have solved one of the most basic and frustrating problems of Sea Doo tours. I have to give my head a shake. I bet plenty of other jet ski riders have experienced the same thing…
Why Jet Ski Riders Need Portable Dock Cleats
INSTACLEAT used in centre of front dock – photo © 2017 by Craig Nicholson
How many times have you arrived at an unfamiliar dock like the one above? Only to find that the fixed mooring cleats or rings were too far apart to properly secure both ends of your personal watercraft? How about too high to reach conveniently? Maybe only one poorly positioned fixed device? Or was it broken? Worse, none at all! How many times has your group tried to dock without enough berth spaces available to moor all of your Sea Doo watercraft? This is the best solution I’ve found…
Benefits of Portable Dock Cleats
INSTACLEAT portable dock cleat – photo © 2017 by Craig Nicholson
As PWC riding gear, portable dock cleats have many advantages for jet skiers and other recreational boaters. A pair of them transport easily and provide total flexibility in almost any docking situation. All you need is enough room to park your pleasure craft at the dock and a space between the dock boards. Position your two portable dock cleats wherever and however you wish. Then tie up your watercraft just as you normally would. It will be secure for your stay. When you’re ready to leave, pack up your portable dock cleats. Tuck them away for next time. I keep mine in a soft pouch. That way, they won’t rattle around or damage my storage bin or its other contents. I’m also careful not to drop them overboard while handling them!
Dock Cleat Choices
PORTACLEAT
INSTACLEAT
As you can see from the photos, portable dock cleats come is several styles. Each style shares the common features of a shaft with a tie-up at the top and a T-shaped cross bar on the bottom. With each type, the shaft slips between two dock boards. Then you turn the T-shaped cross bar 90˚ under the dock boards to hold the cleat in place.
Take Your Pick
I tried three different portable dock cleats from Dock Edge. Each can be found by scrolling down their online Cleats page. The Portacleat™ secures into place with the help of pressure from the tie ropes from the moored vessel. The Instacleat™ is threaded so that the T-shaped cross bar can be screwed tight. This is the only one with a T-bar tie up on top instead of a ring. Finally, the EZE DOCKER™ is spring loaded, being held in place by the pressure of the compressed spring.
EZE DOCKER
My Portable Dock Cleat Preference?
Each of these portable dock cleats did the job of securing my Sea Doo watercraft to a dock. But for overall ease of use, my preference is the EZE DOCKER. I found that once slipped between dock boards and turned 90˚, the spring resistance immediately snugged it tight. This mechanism just seemed easier to install and remove.
Whatever your choice of portable dock cleats, you’ll never have to worry about be able to dock again (Unless you run into one that has no space between the boards!). That’s why I added portable dock cleats to my list of best docking equipment for Sea Doo tours. And made them a permanent addition to my PWC riding gear!
If you enjoyed this post, check out my other riding tips.
The tips and advice in this article are the opinions of the author, may not work in every situation and are intended only for the convenience and interest of the reader, who has the personal responsibility to confirm the validity, accuracy and relevancy of this information prior to putting it to their own use.