Flush Seawall Cleat-Backing Plates

A dock cleat fails at the backing, not at the horn. On a Pinellas seawall or dock cap, a surface bolt into thin concrete or a hollow cap pulls out the first time a spring line loads it. A flush cleat-backing plate spreads that load into the cap and leaves a serviceable face.

What the plate is doing

The plate is a bearing pad and a bolt pattern, set flush so a bare foot and a dock cart do not catch an edge. It is not a decorative cover. We size it to the cleat the boat actually uses, then isolate it from the paver field so a line load does not ripple the walk.

• Backing plate under the cleat, not bolts into the cap face alone

• Flush set so the plate does not trip the dock edge

• Isolation from the paver field so the walk is not the structural member

• Access left for the nut side if the cap is openable

Where it meets the hardscape

Seawall walks and finger-pier landings in St. Pete Beach, Tierra Verde, and the north Pinellas canals all see the same snatch load. We cut the paver field around the plate and hold a rigid edge so the first course does not creep into the recess.

PaverForge Hardscapes sets flush seawall cleat-backing plates with the walk or cap repair. Call 727-490-9798 or book at https://www.paverforge.com/book-online.