SV211 broken hydrogate and stripped screw hole

[jhoffy22]

What are my options for repairing this stripped screw hole? I'm not sure what happened, but the weld broke on my hydrogate and the screw hole is stripped. I'm guessing the screw hole stripped and came loose putting extra stress on the hydrogate, but not sure.

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[SilentSeven]

Full disclaimer: Never done this type of repair but generally handy at most boat stuff.

I'd take the other screw out and see if it's a machine screw or self tapping type screw - this will give you insight into what type of repair is needed. If it's a self tapping screw, I'd look at using marine epoxy to refill the hole and then once set - predrill the hole to the correct size for the replacement screw. If it's a bolt, it likely uses a female insert. I'd look at overdrilling the hole and then embedding the insert in epoxy and replacing. If the hole is thru to the bilge, you likely have oil contamination and you'll need to be super fastidious to get the oil out so the epoxy will grab.

Good luck. Take pictures and tell us what you decide to do!

[jhoffy22]

Here's a better picture of the broken part.

[jpwhit]

I did this exact repair about a year ago on my 200. They are self-tapping screws. I drilled out all the existing holes in which the screws didn't fit snugly to get a clean surface in the fiberglass for epoxy to adhere. Some of the screws that hadn't fallen out were on the way to doing so. Filled all those holes with Marine Tex epoxy and let that dry for 24 hours. I temporarily remounted the base plate using the screws that were fine to hold it in the correct position and pre-drilled the repaired screw holes.

The harder part was getting all the pieces. One of my screws had fallen out which meant the spacer sleeve that keeps the screw from tightening down on the sliding plate was gone. And I had to buy the full set of metal parts from Nautique Parts to get the one broken plate. It's not a broken weld, the plate is stamp formed so the metal itself is cracked. The set of metal plates from Nautique Parts did not come with hardware. That's where having a metal shop in your basement comes in handy. I machined new spacer sleeves on the metal lathe. In fairness, I didn't call Nautique parts to see if they could get the spacer sleeves, I just couldn't find them on the website.

[jhoffy22]

I did this exact repair about a year ago on my 200. They are self-tapping screws. I drilled out all the existing holes in which the screws didn't fit snugly to get a clean surface in the fiberglass for epoxy to adhere. Some of the screws that hadn't fallen out were on the way to doing so. Filled all those holes with Marine Tex epoxy and let that dry for 24 hours. I temporarily remounted the base plate using the screws that were fine to hold it in the correct position and pre-drilled the repaired screw holes.

The harder part was getting all the pieces. One of my screws had fallen out which meant the spacer sleeve that keeps the screw from tightening down on the sliding plate was gone. And I had to buy the full set of metal parts from Nautique Parts to get the one broken plate. It's not a broken weld, the plate is stamp formed so the metal itself is cracked. The set of metal plates from Nautique Parts did not come with hardware. That's where having a metal shop in your basement comes in handy. I machined new spacer sleeves on the metal lathe. In fairness, I didn't call Nautique parts to see if they could get the spacer sleeves, I just couldn't find them on the website.

Sounds identical to my issue. I did however call Nautique Parts and they aren't able to get the spacer sleeve, so I'm going to have to figure something out there as I don't have a metal shop in my basement. I also have to order the full kit to replace the stamp-formed metal plate.

[jpwhit]

You may be able to find the spacers here https://www.mcmaster.com/spacers/ You'll just have to measure one and see if you can find a close enough size.

[jhoffy22]

Quick update here. I ended up taking a very similar approach as jpwhit.

1. Removed the old hydrogate. Turns out it was broken in a couple different spots. I have a theory as to why (more on this below)
2. Drilled out all holes with 1/4 bit aside from the top two
3. Blew out with air compressor and cleaned with acetone
4. Taped with painters tape all around holes
5. Filled holes using Marine Tex. I used a syringe to get the Marine Tex into the holes
6. Let sit for 24 hours
7. Sanded holes dremel attachment followed by 80 grit sanding block to smooth out
8. Mounted hydrogate backing plate using just the top two holes, to ensure that I kept the placement consistent with how it was before.
9. Drilled pilot holes using a bit the size of the base of the screws
10. Applied 3M 4000 to screws and mounted the rest of the hydrogate in position
11. I was able to find aluminum spacers matching the same size as the stainless steel ones that are stock. My plan is to use these but eventually replace them with stainless steel spacers when I can find them.

Now for my theory on why I had his issue in the first place. I believe they slightly misdrilled the screw holes for the hydrogate. With the hydrogate in wakeboard or slalom position, one side of it is very very slightly slower than the other side. The backing plate on the starboard side is also not flush with the bottom of the boat like it is on the port side. I used my dremel to shave some material off of the backing plate while it was off my boat so that it was completely flush. I think that because of this misalignment, the plate had too much pressure on it at speed eventually causing the screw to pull out and then stressed other areas of the hydrogate to cause it to break. I would be curious what you guys think about this. I am tempted to redo the whole project and redrill all of the holes ensuring that it's perfectly aligned and even on both sides. Here's a picture so you can see what I mean.

[MN Ryan]

Sounds like a nice fix. Good job.

[jhoffy22]

Sounds like a nice fix. Good job.

Thanks, but I think I'm going to have to redrill the holes. I found some pictures on the forum and mine is definitely crooked. Check this out. Guessing it's going to cause it to list to the starboard side when in slalom mode. We'll see though. One thing is for certain, Marine Tex is some strong stuff!

[MN Ryan]

jhoffy22 Not sure if it helps, but here is a pic of mine. I honestly don't think that little bit will make a difference, but it's your boat.

[jhoffy22]

jhoffy22 Not sure if it helps, but here is a pic of mine. I honestly don't think that little bit will make a difference, but it's your boat.

That does help, thanks. Ours look pretty similar with the left side being slightly higher than the right side. I wonder if it's by design.

Out of curiosity, what prop do you have on your boat? Is that the 645?


This is the one I have: https://www.mniboats.com/acme-645-4-...RoCcLEQAvD_BwE

I believe it's the stock prop for 06+ TE SV211s.

[MN Ryan]

It's an ACME 1939 - 14" x 15.5".

[jpwhit]

I think the plates crack over time from metal fatigue. Every time the boat starts and stops the plates must flex some. Once the plates are cracked, then you start to get some rocking motion when the boat starts and stops. I think thats what works the screws loose. I plan to watch mine more carefully and fix any damage sooner.

[SilentSeven]

jhoffy22 - did you purchase a new gate or repair your existing one and reuse?

[jhoffy22]

jhoffy22 - did you purchase a new gate or repair your existing one and reuse?

I purchased a new gate. There were horizontal cracks on the outermost plate in addition to the broken tab in my picture above. I've read about people repairing it via welding but I wasn't interested considering the cost of just replacing the whole unit.