Building a boat around a nut......

[sogood]

Unlike cars, boat engines etc. can be quite inaccessible. I've discovered this while refurbing my Wellcraft and in particular when working on the engine. Even a simple job like changing the spark plugs can be a pain. My latest discovery came about when I was investigating the possibility of re-seating/ re-sealing the base plates on my guard rail. I have a small pool of water that forms repeatedly on the toilet floor and couldn't find any obvious place that it might have been coming from. I suspected that it might have been coming from outside, via the guard rail base plates.

These are screwed down onto the raised gunwale and the water appeared after any rain. But the rail isn't removable! It's held down with SS nuts and bolts, which had to be fitted before the cap was fitted onto the hull. There is no access whatsoever to the nuts! This also means that tightening any that are a tad loose is a non runner.

I guess I'll just have to seal them without removing them, but it's not my preferred method.

Just an observation................

 

[Scott Danforth]

Most boats are built in two pieces and then slapped together. Many tiime you have to un-build to rebuild or fire up saws and make access panels

 

[DouglasW]

Unlike cars, boat engines etc. can be quite inaccessible.

You haven't seen my 98 Trans Am with half the engine under the windshield. No way to get to the rear spark plugs.

 

[sogood]

True, there are always exceptions. On my first car, a Fiat 850, the rear spark plug was impossible to get at, buried up beneath the back window. I finished up cutting an access panel behind the back seat. But I think by and large, some boat engines take the biscuit. And my Wellcraft isn' the worst of them.
I'm not going to go cutting access panels (12 in total) into my newly relined interior, so I'll just live with it.

 

[ajgraz]

If you do decide to access them, a 4” hole saw and some flat cover plates is how I did it.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,...... Very 1st thing I do when refittin' a hull is to assess the access situation, 'n plan my Bondoizin' modifications,...

Top Priority is bein' able to fix whatever needs fixin',... later,.....

Sometimes as simple as changin' fasteners, many times cuttin' panels into smaller panels, more easily removed,...
Changin' hinges on motorboxes so they can tip, then be removed, etc,....

 

[redfury]

I suppose it depends on the way the rail is fastened. If it's screws from the top, you could drill them out and replace the nut part with a riv-nut.

 

[sogood]

I'm happier to stay with nuts and bolts, just for strength as the rails bolt into fibreglass, with not a lot else to hang on to. I like the idea used by ajgraz, but would consider raising it a notch, by using recessed lights, instead of blank plates. Killing two birds with one stone, giving access to the bolts and providing lighting along the walkaround. Thoughts?

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... They loosen with time, 'n age, the plywood backer plates allow the washers to sink in after awhile,.....

I kinda like the recess light idea,.....