cleat location
 

the rear cleats on my 288 seam to be to far back to be affective for docking or rafting up. havent tryed it yet.

have any of you other 288 owners had trouble with this?
looks like the fenders will work their way around the back and not protect the rear.

Don't have experience with the 288, but I had the same issue with my 25. I installed fender clips on the inside gunnel in the motorwell and drape the fender over the side. Works well for me. You could also install the mushroom fender cleats. Good luck.

I went with the clean nice finish of Eddie Marine's "Stainless Steel Quick-pin Cleets" You adjust the rope once, and then you pop them in and out as you need them. A little pricey, but they have a nice flush finish when your not using them. You can see them here. This is the picture of the 1/2" quick-pin. I went with the 3/8" size, plenty big for fender rope... the part number is #280-35, instead of 280-30 like in the picture.

S.Steel Quick-pins

thanks guys , so apparently it is an issue:(

man , i hate the thought of drilling holes into my baby.

After drilling a couple Lotoparty, the rest isn't so bad.
Lets see here, I drilled so far.....hum????
5 @ 2 1/8"
2 @ 4 1/2"
1 @ 1 1/4"
4 @ 1"
4 @ 1/2"
4 @ 3/8"
8 @ 5/16"
19 @ 1/4"
And I'm sure I forgot a few more That I drilled.:D:D:D

lotoparty you are absolutely correct. Quality Time that's how I dealt with the problem as well. I'm thinking of ordering a pair of those pop up fender cleats. The next boat will definitely have them as well as the electric stern light....

pop-up cleats
 

Gaffrig has a lower profile version of the pop-up mushroom cleat that I just installed on my Aggressor about 2 feet forward from the transom wall. They are listed in the 2002 catalog. Before that I used to raise the engine hatch and close it on the rope... a real pain in the A$$.

if you have a decent size fender
leave about 1 1/2 feet of line from the back cleat then from the bottom of the fender run a line to your spring cleat and adjust as needed.

im am pretty nervouse about adding holes to the boat!!!
so this was a quik fix and we raft of every weekend \
between 40 to 100 plus boats-and i haventy had a prblem yet!

just make sure itd a decent size fender

if you have a decent size fender
leave about 1 1/2 feet of line from the back cleat then from the bottom of the fender run a line to your spring cleat and adjust as needed.

im am pretty nervouse about adding holes to the boat!!!
so this was a quik fix and we raft of every weekend \
between 40 to 100 plus boats-and i haventy had a prblem yet!

just make sure itd a decent size fender

im not sure what a spring cleat is but i think i know what your saying.

run a line from the rear cleat , attach a fender about 2 ft. from it , knot on each side of fender so it doesnt wonder and continue line to the next cleat. wont look profesional but will do the job.

sunsation98 , i just noticed your from st. clair shores. i bought my 288 from jefferson beach only a few months ago. it was froze over at the time but looked like a great place to play.:)