The port stern side cleat is getting replaced! - 2017

If you remember, we posted about our Schaefer starboard side cleat getting damaged during hurricane Odile.
Now we are getting around to replacing this port side original aluminum cleat with a matching Schaefer cleat and it will be stronger and look goooood..

Middle of April 2017 - Tied up in Marina Mazatlán, Mexico 
The old screw holes are ready to be filled with epoxy and teak plugs now.
We first put a bit of silicone on the bottom of the holes so the epoxy would not drain out.
Then a day later we filled to holes with epoxy leaving some room for the teak plugs. While the epoxy was still wet we put in the teak plugs which sit in a little epoxy to hold them in.  
Once we got the old cleat off we put the teak plugs in keeping the grain the same way. (Editor's note - Chip does these teak plugs really well...professional-grade!)
Using the heat gun to remove some of the built up Cetol. 
Trying to keep the heat local with the bottom of the scraper.
The heat gun helped with the heavy stuff.
The scraping.
The sanding.
More sanding.
We put a coat of Sikkens Cetol Natural Teak on.
We put two coats Sikkens Cetol Clear on and it is ready to tape

Looks like eyes, nose and mouth.
We put a chamfer on the two holes.
The new Schaefer cleat needed a 22mm socket and we got lucky and did not need a deep one so we found a socket easy enough at Home Depot in Mazatlán. Also a day earlier we had to secure the studs into the cleat with some thread locker they supplied.
The 3M UV 4000 was clogged so we had to cut the tube
as it was about at the end any way. Still a waste though.
Like icing on a cake.
Spreading it all around...
...most of the way down the threads also.
Persuading the cleat down a little.
And now...for the bottom.
Looking up under lazzerett.
It took several times of contorting up in the lazzerett, waiting each time for the cleat to squish out a bit of 3M UV 4000. Each time I got a quarter turn or so on the nuts.
The cleat is all seated in and ready for clean up.
Trimming off the excess 3M UV 4000 from the Schaefer cleat..
Looks good. This will need to set for at least 24 hours before we can use it.
All that for this?😌
(Editor's note - Thank you, Chip, for doing this challenging project!!)

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