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Sounds like you either have Montauk cleats or very early Outrage cleats.

However, I never had any problems with either version on my prior Whalers and they were installed correctly.

The 1985 Outrage 18' should have these type of cleats.
http://www.whalercentral.com/photogal...hoto_id=40

The cooler sits on the floor and the nose of the cleats stop it from going forward.
The console stops it from going aft.
The bungee cords stop it from bouncing.

The cooler sits on top of the Montauk cleats on a Montauk.
This was designed because the floor slopes upwards at the sides and the cooler had to be high enough to clear the sloping sides.

There are drawings available in the downloads section for both the Montauk and Outrage cleats.
http://www.whalercentral.com/download...?cat_id=13