Don't understand position of cleats on seadoo speedsters

[hancop]

Ok everyone, I just got a 2012 speedster 150 this year and tie it up at our dock at the cottage. There is lots of boats on our lake and thus lots of waves. What I don't understand is why Seadoo put cleats on the back and front of the boat when it is shaped like an egg. You need to have a bumper hanging right from the center of the egg shape between the two existing cleats to stop the boat from hitting the dock. After what 20+ years of Seadoo making this boat I would have thought that they might have had some complaints about this and put a cleat there to hang a bumper from.

Anyone else noticed this ? How do you tie off you speedsters and protect them from dock rash ?

 

[Moejay]

It's a bad design ... I hang my bumpers from the front and back tower poles.

 

[Coastiejoe]

4-tech skis are no better. Virtually nothing to tie the fronts off with. I just added pop up cleats to mine,,,

 

[Coastiejoe]

Here is the post with my cleats,,,

Drilled a hole in my ski... (Installed a pop-up cleat)..
http://www.seadooforum.com/showpost.php?p=337471

 

[SeaDoo Fan]

I use bungee dock ropes. I bought 4 four-foot ropes. Two for the bow and two for the stern. They are each rated for 300 lbs. The boat stays centered in my slip without touching the dock and without the need for bumpers.

 

[hancop]

I have those bungee ropes too, my problem is I don't have a slip dock ): Maybe I need to make one

 

[SeaDoo Fan]

Sounds like a fun project to me...

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

How about a set of those fiberglass spring whips that hang out over the water? I hang the bumpers off my dock.

 

[hancop]

Ya wanted the spring whips and looked at that first but my speedster has the tower and they will not work with it. Tower is in the way ):
I currently have bumpers tied to the dock too, but when you go to the marina the existing cleats with bumpers on them don't work

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

"when you go to the marina the existing cleats with bumpers on them don't work "

Good point, that's usually the case. Sometimes the dock can be too high aswell, especially if the water is low.

I've also seen a flat t-shaped hookie-doo object intended to slip between the boards and turn 90 degrees with a hole in the end for your rope, not sure where but I've seen them being marketed. Could probably even make something crudely similar out of coat hanger wire.

 

[jbacon]

The cleats are perfectly placed to do what they are intended to do, which is tie the boat up. Why not run a line from the bow to the stern cleats and hang your fenders from that ?

 

[xintersecty]

I usually something on the inside of the boat to tie the bumper too. Yea, I agree hanging bumpers from the boat is kinda difficult. I have the 2008 challenger and the middle and back cleat seems to work nicely.