Ladder screws pulled out!

[GT1000000]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

Nice solution!
Be sure to use a good marine sealant on all the hardware to help prevent water intrusion...

 

[KazooTom]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

I was going to use white silcone. I was going to set the ladder and then remove bolts one at a time squirt hole area full of silcone then reinstall stainless bolts. Not the right thing to do? New to all this.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

You should use something like 3M 4200 or 5200 Marine Sealant...there are other similar products, they are chemically engineered for the marine environment...

 

[britisher]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

Hi KazooTom,
I have a 1989 SR 180 BR with a swim ladder just like yours, but it was detached and rolling around loose in the boat when I bought it, so had to refit it. Boy oh boy, what a stupid design SR did on the back of that boat!!! As you have already found out, there is precious little room between the bottom and top halves of the swim platform moldings. SR installed a ply sheet inside each swim platform side for 'strength I guess" and you cannot replace those without separating the boat. For me, that was a no go.
When I did mine, I first drilled out the 8 boat body holes to ensure that the new SS BOLTS would fit. I cleaned everything up and decided that I would EITHER use a pre-drilled strengthening plate inside the swim platform OR use extra large SS Flat washers. I used the latter large flat washers to spread the load.
Installing the flat washers and the locking nuts was 'interesting' and my wife's small hands were invaluable to get to the deepest point inside the swim platform. To hold the flatwasher and the locknut together I used a hot melt glue to attache the locknut to the flatwasher and then used a pair of needle nose pliers with a rubber band tight round round the pointy end to keep the flat washer held reasonably tight by the pliers. My wife then carefully fed that arrangement over each of the 8 holes, whilst I fed the bolt in from the outside. The hot melt glue will only hold the lock nut and washer together long enough to get the thread started after which wifey used a wrench to hold the nut tight whilst I used to a socket wrench at the bolt end. It didn't go 100% successfully and we had to re-glue one nut and washer. Before we tightened up the 8 bolts, I covered everything liberally in marine sealant to make sure I had no water ingress. The job worked and the ladders are firmly re-attached, work fine and no water leaks.
Hope this helps.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

I also have a stringer problem with this boat.

More info would be good.

A single stringer problem or a stringer(s) problem?

Is there a video showing how to remove the decking and fuel tank and replace a stringer. I know of the step by step the gentalman did of the 22' sea ray. I dont have the time or desire to go that far.

Guessing Frisco's SR resto is the guy & his 22' you refer to, and his videos are a great resource.

Generally, most glass boats are put together similarly: Glass hull, glass covered wooden stringers(bulkheads & compartments), glass covered deck, cap over hull at the rubrail. Some of the superstructure (seat boxes, bow seats, consoles) may be glass only formed in a mold. Your boat is also likely to have spray in or pour in flotation foam.

If there's any problems w/ the stringers, it should be addressed. It will only get worse & more difficult to repair. If there is soft/wet/rotten wood in 1, it usually migrates & infiltrates any & all other wooden structure below deck. If the stringers are wet, the flotation foam near by is also likely wet. That can add hundreds of pounds of weight to your boat. Wet foam is no longer buoyant. In fact it can be the path the water takes to move thru the remaining wooden structure below deck.

The stringers are 1 part of a system.

 

[britisher]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

My 1989 SR 180 is identical to yours. It was my first boat purchase last year and I must have had GREEN stamped on my forehead for buying it. Anyhow, my floor had soft spots and the transom had gone. I had to completely strip out ALL the wood inside the boat and rebuild from scratch. I used Friscoboater's thread on his rebuild as my guide AND inspiration/motivation to keep going. As the stringers are the full length of the boat I tried laminating 8' lengths of ply, but it just didn't work, so I used solid timber well protected with poly resin. It's probably better built than new, but I look at the cost and what that spend could have bought me and I roll my eyes. Hindsight!!

 

[Stamey]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

Considering the corrosion on the t-nuts that failed, I'd be using aluminum plate in there instead of steel. Those t-nuts were coated in something, probably zinc, that had a better grip on the metal than your paint will and the corrosion got them. Yes, it will take a while, and if you don't plan to have the boat that long then disregard this post and proceed as planned.

And +1 on the 3M 5200 sealant. It's made for the environment.

Chris

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

Pictures:View attachment 202833View attachment 202834

Sure would have been nice if they used stainless steel Tnuts instead of the plain ol' steel Tnuts that rusted out... :stupid:

For sealing it up, coat the plate's threaded holes in sealant, coat the bolt threads in sealant, a dab at the through hull hole, install the ladder, then clean up the excess sealant with paint thinner. (You want the threads coated in sealant so they don't rust.)

Don't use silicone, use 3m 4200 or 5200 as suggested earlier......

 

[britisher]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

Sure would have been nice if they used stainless steel Tnuts instead of the plain ol' steel Tnuts that rusted out... :stupid:

For sealing it up, coat the plate's threaded holes in sealant, coat the bolt threads in sealant, a dab at the through hull hole, install the ladder, then clean up the excess sealant with paint thinner. (You want the threads coated in sealant so they don't rust.)

Don't use silicone, use 3m 4200 or 5200 as suggested earlier......

Amen to the SS tee nuts. I guess the bean counters at SR got in on the boat building act because when I was refurbishing my SR 180 BR, all the upholstered side panels that attach to the hull side were rotten and needed replacing. All the panels were held on by SS bolts that were screwed into plain steel tee nuts, then held tight to the cap with SS lock nuts and plain steel flat washers. The flat washers made it hard to remove the panels and the plain steel tee nuts rusted around the SS bolts making them unusable. All for what? Maybe $3.00 in total extra spend to SR had they used SS to begin with. Mine are all SS now. No rust ever.

 

[KazooTom]

Re: Ladder screws pulled out!

Well the ladder is reattached and ready for water again. It took longer then I exspected to complete the repair. To my great fortune my wife is very slim and she could snake her are arm and hand in behind the seat and move the plates on a stick to the general location. I then used a small screw driver throught the ladder holes and moved the plate till I got a bolt hole to line up. From there I installed all the bolts and ladder and then again removered each bolt added sealer and reinstalled. I weight about 240 and when testing with my fat a&% it was soild. Your help throught this fourm was the helped I needed. Thanks.