The Best Dock Cleats, Dock Lines, and Boarding Accessories
By Lance Greiner — General Manager, Boater's World · Former Platform GM, Travelcamp RV· June 12, 2026· 1 min read
Lance Greiner is a career marine and automotive retail professional with more than 15 years of dealership management experience. He currently serves as General Manager at Boater's World in Florida, overseeing full mar…
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The Rankings
316 stainless dock cleats are the only cleats worth installing in a saltwater environment. 304 stainless and zinc-plated cleats rust visibly within 2 seasons in Florida humidity — the rust streaks stain docks and dock boxes permanently. Whitecap's 6-inch 316 cleat is sized correctly for boats up to 25 feet and the through-bolt pattern is standard.
| Size | 6 inch |
| Material | 316 stainless steel |
| Mount | Through-bolt or lag |
Re-boarding a boat from the water after swimming or a fall overboard requires a ladder that deploys quickly, one-handed, from the water — not from the boat. Garelick's EEz-In design folds flat against the transom and deploys by pulling a single rope from the water. Steps are wide, flat, and anti-slip even when covered in barnacles after a season.
| Steps | 3-step |
| Capacity | 350 lb |
| Mount | Bracket or pontoon tube |
Flip cleats spring up for line securing and fold flat to eliminate stubbed toes when not in use. The glass-filled nylon construction won't corrode, and the mechanism survives saltwater exposure well. The correct cleat for frequently-walked deck areas where a permanent horned cleat is a tripping hazard.
| Material | Glass-filled nylon |
| Feature | Spring-loaded flip |
| Use | Quick-release |
Moving coolers, dive gear, and provisions from the parking lot to the dock is back-breaking without a cart. Seachoice's marine dock cart has pneumatic wheels that handle dock grating, crushed shell, and sand ramps without bogging. The aluminum frame doesn't rust. Folds flat for storage aboard larger vessels.
| Capacity | 300 lb |
| Wheels | Pneumatic |
| Frame | Aluminum |
A correctly installed bow eye serves as both trailer bow hook and dock bow line attachment — two functions in one fitting. Chrome-plated bronze from Perko doesn't corrode and provides the strongest weld-free bow eye available for boats under 30 feet. Install with a backing plate on any fiberglass hull.
| Material | Chrome bronze |
| Application | Bow tie-off / trailer |
| Load Rating | 700 lb |
Dock Line Materials and Sizing
Nylon three-strand stretches 20–30%, which absorbs the shock of surge and wakes at the dock — use it for spring lines, bow lines, and stern lines in any tidal area. Double-braid nylon is slightly stiffer but holds knots better and lasts longer. Polypropylene dock lines float but degrade in UV within 2–3 seasons and are too stiff for good knot-holding. Sizing: 3/8 inch for boats up to 25 feet, 1/2 inch for 25–40 feet, 5/8 inch above 40 feet.
Cleat Sizing by Boat Length
A cleat should be 1/16 of the boat's length in inches — a 24-foot boat needs a 4-inch cleat minimum, a 6-inch cleat for primary dock lines. Using undersized cleats fails catastrophically in storm surge or when a wake throws a heavy boat hard against a line. Through-bolted cleats with backing plates are mandatory for boats over 25 feet — lag-screwed cleats will pull out under storm conditions.
Dock Box Selection
Dock boxes protect gear from sun, rain, and theft at marina slips. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) boxes from Suncast, Taylor Made, and Rubbermaid Marine outlast fiberglass equivalents in UV exposure and resist saltwater without coating. Look for piano-hinge lids (not individual hinges that break), hasp and padlock compatibility, and non-slip feet. Size for the amount of gear you permanently dock — overcrowded boxes seal poorly.
Boarding Access Safety
USCG accident data consistently shows that re-boarding from the water (man overboard recovery) is harder than expected. Every powered boat over 16 feet should have a boarding ladder that: deploys from inside the water with one hand, has steps starting within 18 inches of the waterline, and supports 400+ lb. A standard fixed transom ladder that folds up out of the water is inadequate — it cannot be deployed by someone in the water.