Teak platform mounts, broke loose!

[jordanmgregory]

I was out on my boat the other weekend and while doing a backflip off of the teak platform the pressure stripped out one of the upper bolts (of the 4 total that hold the mounts onto the transom). Now I'm trying to get my boat back out on the lake but I want to reinforce the bolt with a 3"x4" piece of 3/16" steel with some fiberglass bondo to insure that it's flush with the inside of the transom.

My problem is getting to the back side of those bolts where the nut is. I assume I will need to remove the gas tank. Has anyone done this? Is it just a few bolts and unhook the connections and it's out? Even by looking at it I'm not all that convinced that I'll be able to access the backside of these bolts (I plan on reinforcing the upper bolts on both sides while I'm at it)

Any input would be appreciated - I hope someone on here will have some experience with removing the back gas tank or accessing these bolts.

PS My boat is a 1993 Sport Nautique.

[gatorgates]

platform bolts

I am not sure how the rear end looks on your particular boat, but let me throw out an idea that worked for me. If (big if) you can put your face on the floor and see through to where the bolts would come through the hull after you remove the seat, etc, this process worked great. I had a machine shop cut threads the full length of a 3 foot long bar of 1/2 stainless. I put an aluminum plate (say 3" by 2") over the bar and put a lock-washer and nut on one end. I then marked and drilled the hole throught the hull and fed the bar through the hole from inside the boat. I had someone pull the bar from the rear of the boat while I fed the plate and nut around the gas tank, etc. When the plate was flush with the inside of the hull, I put the bracket on, squirted some marine caulk in the hole, spun a lock nut and bolt on the bar and then cut off the excess length of bar. I did 2 bars on each bracket. The whole process took less than half an hour and I did not have to screw with the gas tank. The platform was solid as a rock and stayed that way until I sold the boat.

[DanielC]

RE: platform bolts

The above sounds good to me. Be thankful you do not have to remove ballast tanks to get to the gas tank. On some boats, the platform brackets are held with lag screws, others are through bolted. On through bolted brackets, I have used masking tape to hold the nut on a box end wrench to reach the bolt ends inside the hull. Boat Life Life Caulk is a good sealer to use.

[jordanmgregory]

Thanks guys I will be working on this today after work. Mine is the slanted transom style.

Gator: which year / style is yours? I hope I can fix mine in a similar way.

[jordanmgregory]

In case anyone is interested in the future I did fix this this weekend and there is absolutely no way to get to those bolts without removing the gas tank.

I had to remove the rear seat, unbolt the gas tank and wiggle it out (it was almost full and I didn't siphon it). Then cut some foam that was covering the lag bolts that held the platform brackets on from the factory.

Then I made two brackets from 3/16" steel sheeting and drilled two holes in each one. After that I covered one side with bondo fiberglass and stuck it against the transom and bolted it on. I used 3/8" bolts with lock nut nuts and large washers to spread out the pressure.

While the fiberglass was soft I tightened the bolts to the point where there was no space between the bondo and the transom. This should ensure that the pressure is disbursed across the entire reinforcement plates.


Here's some pictures:

Starboard:


Port:

[dba4life]

Thanks for the followup and picts. I was wondering how this would turn out. Nice repair work.