removing platform brackets on boat???

[gscho002]

hey

does anyone know the procedure for removing the boat-side platform brackets on a 2010 Nautique 210? our platform gets hammered by wake and wears out the brackets. we paid someone to do this last time around, but i'm wondering if it is something i can do myself. obviously i can do the platform-side ones easily. but i think the boat-side ones also were worn last time. and just looking at it, the bolt into the hull. i'm wondering if i just unscrew from the outside and can bolt in new ones? or do i need to access the inside to hold a nut in there or anything else.......

and is there a procedure for making sure the holes are water tight? sealant to put on bolts? torque setttings to observe?

any help would be appreciated.

actually a related question would be does anyone have any ideas to minimize this. been considering getting a lift but that looks like a lot of trouble. i notice the newer models seem to have better brackets that move the platform edge higher out of the water. i was considering trying to elevate the platform above the brackets with spacers or washers or something...... or perhaps angling the boat-side brackets up a bit.

thx
geoff

[gscho002]

no thoughts at all from anyone...? i cannot be the only person with this problem!?!

[hal2814]

Are you talking about swim platform brackets? The mounting blocks are through bolted to the transom. I think the brackets themselves are just lag bolted to the actual swim platform. I’d have to look. I’m having a hard time picturing what you’re talking about though. Swim platform brackets usually outlive the boat. My 2011 230 still has the brackets from the factory and are fine.

[Stevemo14]

I don;t know what it looks like in the back of a 10, but in my 05 the bolts are visible in the rear lockers. if i still had my hard tanks in they would not be visible, so maybe that's why you are having trouble finding them.

[gscho002]

thank you thank you to you both!

so i am indeed talking about the things that attach to the boat. the wake hits the back of our boat all summer. the platform slams up and down on the water. over 2-3 years this opens the holes that the pin goes through and then starts to wear the sleeve on the platform bracket as well as the pillar on the boat bracket. it finally came completely off 2 summers ago on one bracket in the water before we pulled it. we paid about 1K maybe to have the bracets on both the boat and platform replaced.

and now halfway through our second summer it is getting loose again. the brackets are $40 each maybe. so i need to do this myself.....

so by "through the transom" - does that mean i must get inside the boat to remove something? or can i just back the bolts out of the boat-side brackets and and install new ones from outside? the answer to this would depend on what sort of internal mechanism does it bolt into - is it a separate nut that will fall loose when i remove the bolt or is it a threaded insert that is somehow attached to the inside of the hull or "transom"? so that i can remove the bolt from the outside and then put it back in without accessing the inside?

i do still have hardtanks and they must be below those just looking on the outside. plus i cannot see anything visible so...... weirdly i had them replaced once and it was expensive but not so expensive that i thought they removed the hardtanks!

[Stevemo14]

My brackets have 4 bolts through the transom on each side. if i remember correctly there is a metal plate that mirrors the face of the bracket that goes on the inside of the boat.

My bolts have washers and nylock nuts, so they shouldn't be able to be fully taken off without holding the nut while turning the bolt. If yours do not i would recommend adding them. The nuts could also be covered in carpet if your rear lockers are carpeted. You may have to pull in down to be able to see them.

Last, If you boat is getting beat up, maybe back it in so the bow is taking the brunt of the waves. that would save your platform.

[gscho002]

ok so that is super helpful. i'll have to get inside then and find the backs.

yes we have just backed it in the past month. i am not sure it helps. the front rides up in a way the back did not and that then seesaws the platform down into the water. we are at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland and have been here 10 years. i feel like the wake has gotten much worse with traffic and bigger boats the last 5-6 years. it is amazing on some weekends.

we are looking at a lift but that seems like an absurd solution to this issue.

or a new boat - the newer models seem to have different brackets and the platform is farther out of the water than on our 2010 210.

[hal2814]

You’re going to need 2 people or a lot of reach. Or maybe you can manage to wedge a wrench just right to hold the nut inside while you loosen the bolt. In my 230 you can get to the nuts with the hard tanks in. But even if you can’t, removing them is only about a 30 minute job. The hardest part of that is loosening the hoses. You’re probably not seeing the backs because they’re covered in carpet as mentioned above. Bring contact cement for the carpet.

[Stevemo14]

I would just use some vice-grips to hold the nut on the back. You should be able to have it hold on the other bolts when you are loosening. When you are on the last one just make sure you keep one of the other loosened bolts in place. They will zip right off with an impact. Maybe place a tray below them to catch the washers.

[gun-driver]

If you boat is getting beat up, maybe back it in so the bow is taking the brunt of the waves. that would save your platform.

What he said.

What lake is this on??

[shag]

I quite honestly have never heard of this type of problem..

[Stevemo14]

What he said.

What lake is this on??

He said Deep Creek Lake in MD

[gscho002]

yep Deep Creek Lake in western MD. the boat shops here were not surprised. apparently replacing platform brackets is a growing business. it is a finger lake, so the boats surf and do other stuff not far off the docks in many places. possibly i let it go too long and maybe if i catch it sooner, i can just do the platform. appreciate the advice - knowing what to look for is a huge help.

[gun-driver]

Ha Ha I had a feeling it was that lake. I've been going there for probably 25 years but it's so bad anymore we only go once in awhile now.
That lake is the tube capital of the east, I've never seen so many $100,000 dollar boats pulling tubes in my life.

On that lake backing in may help but only a lift is going to fix the issue especially if you're on the main channel.

[gscho002]

ya that is a pretty good description the last few years. no one is skiing or even wakeboarding unless it is early morning or late evening. so you have to plan a late dinner and wait until almost dusk..... sort of sad i agree. not sure what can be done. though the big waves come from the surfers and even more so the people who troll by at 10 mph. the tubers have driven them out of the channel so they go by 30ft off the dock. it is what it is.

know any good lift options? have looked at a couple and 15k to solve my problem seems dumb. need a cheap standing one but the few i've looked at cannot deal with the 4-5ft water drawdown without a lot of work and moving the dock.....

and what lakes are better? i have thought Smith Mt Lake looks like an option. i like the permanent boat houses.