Cleats

A cleat is probably the oldest device for providing a a securing point for the end of a line. Before the reintroduction of the belaying pin in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, cleats were fastened to the decks, the insides of the bulwarks, around the feet of the masts, lashed to shrouds and bolted to the shells of pulley blocks to provide belaying points for various running gear.