MOST INNOVATIVE GEAR FOR 2022
JOY SELF TAILING CLEAT
Every so often an invention comes along that is so original and useful you’re 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
