New Gear: JOY Self Tailing Cleat

The DAME Design Award-nominated Joy Self Tailing Cleat is designed to handle mooring lines under load, explains DAME jury member Elaine Bunting

Every so often an invention comes along that is so original and useful you are amazed it was never thought of before. The JOY self-tailing cleat is that: a brilliant idea that solves a real problem of how to handle a mooring line under heavy load.

The cleat is the brainchild of Italian engineer and serial inventor Cristiano Bonomi. In 2013, Bonomi tore a back muscle trying to moor his 35-tonne yacht and thought: there has to be an easier way. He began making a prototype with 3D polymer print technologies before testing and tweaking the design.

Instead of the two customary pillars of a cleat, the JOY has a motorised self-tailer on one side and a turning shaft on bearings on the other, activated by a foot switch. These allow a mooring line to be pulled in and kept under tension before being made fast in the normal way round the cleat horns.

The JOY Self Tailing Cleat is currently available in four motor sizes to handle pull maximum loads of 165-600kg and for 12V or 24V systems.

It is handsomely made in mirror polished AISI 316 stainless steel, and scores on every measure: originality; styling; functionality; and apparent ease of operation. It would be a real boon for a family crew handling a larger yacht.