Pedestal Seat Base Repair

[Willow2]

I've got a 165 Navigator with a tiller steer 40hp. Mercury. Over the last few years, the screws that hold the seat base to the floor have stripped out. I'm about to pull the entire floor up (which means removing both rod lockers on the sides of the boat), unless somebody gives me a better idea. I removed the floor piece over the gas tank, thinking I might be able to reach under the adjacent floor panel to hold some nuts while I bolt the pedestal down, but alas, the gas tank is inside an aluminum well, so there is no way to reach through. Any thoughts?

[Silvertip]

You don't need to remove the floor. I can't remember where I saw them but horseshoe shaped metal plates are available for this fix. You remove the base and insert one of these plates (1/2 circle) through the hole and bolt it in place. You insert the other half and do the same thing. The pedestal then bolts to the plates with stainless machine screws rather than wood screws. Check Cabelas and Bass Pro. I checked iBoats and didn't see them listed. What others do is to remove the base, remove any rotted wood in the screw holes, and then epoxy them shut. Pilot drill the holes and use the same hardware.

[Tredeb]

What about turning the base enough to make new holes? Or is the surrounding wood compromised? The aluminum plates sound like a good idea and you could probably make them yourself. You can work aluminum with woodworking tools.