swim platform support free from transom

dpagini

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Nov 18, 2015
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41
Can anyone give me some thoughts on an issue I've run into with my swim platform...? At one point this fall, I heard a pop while a friend was on the platform, and I determined that it must have been the last screw head holding in the support to the transom snap off. So there were 4 screws in this brace, and they all seem to have snapped off within a mm or two from being flush.
Here's my question... can anyone suggest some repair alternatives? Originally I was thinking I would just have to remove what's left of the screws, and then thru bolt them. Problem is, the place it connects is inaccessible through the engine compartment. My next thought is to just throw some 5200 in the existing holes to make sure they are sealed, and move the support over half an inch and put 4 new screws into the boat. I'm really not sure how deep these screws should be though. Also, should I put them in with some kind (5200 also?) of sealer? Is there any reason I should not take this approach?

I'm attaching a picture below that shows the support unattached and moved over to the left half an inch or so.

Any help is much appreciated, thanks!!

Thanks,
DP
 

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DeepBlue2010

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I wouldn't move the support arm at all. Levet where it is and drill new holes in the plate itself between the existing holes. Use #10 SS screw 1 or 1.5 inch. Cover the screws with sealent 5200, 4200 or 4000 any of them will do.
 

tpenfield

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IMO 1/2" shift to one side may be more than you need. 1/4" might be enough. Less would be better. Figure that the transom is 1-1/2" - 2" thick. The screws are under 'shear' force and not being pulled on, so a 1" screw may be fine.
 
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dpagini

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Nov 18, 2015
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Thanks DeepBlue2010 and tpenfield. Where exactly should I put sealant? Just around the heads after it's screwed in? Or should I put it on the screw threads even? Or maybe just a little in the hole before the screws go in?
Also - does a little sealant make sense to cover the snapped off heads? I just dont want any [more] water getting soaked up in the transom. It looks pretty good to me now, but I dont want to find that as a point of a failure a few years down the road. Does that make sense?
 

DeepBlue2010

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Inside the holes and on the threads. The extra will seal the heads for you. Make sure the old ones are also sealed. After you drill the new holes, remove the fitting and seal the old screws directly. bed the fitting with 3M sealant and insert the new screws.
 

Woodonglass

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Dec 29, 2009
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This might be a bit of overkill but... If it were my boat I'd prolly use these...
185112.jpg
and totally remove the broken screws and fill the holes with thickened epoxy filler. I'd then Predill the epoxy and Drill larger holes in the mounting Plate and use Larger screws to mount into the transom and use 5200 to seal everything. Like I said, prolly overkill, but that's what I'd do.
 

fhhuber

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Jun 19, 2014
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This might be a bit of overkill but... If it were my boat I'd prolly use these...
185112.jpg
and totally remove the broken screws and fill the holes with thickened epoxy filler. I'd then Predill the epoxy and Drill larger holes in the mounting Plate and use Larger screws to mount into the transom and use 5200 to seal everything. Like I said, prolly overkill, but that's what I'd do.

Instead of just using glass filled epoxy... I would epoxy oak dowels into the holes. (Oak dowel at Home Depot or Lowes... one 3 ft piece will be more than enough)
I think this is mostly a personal choice.

Then since those original screws failed... I'd also go to a larger diameter screw or you'll just have them fail again. Its already been proven the originals were inadequate.
 

dpagini

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Nov 18, 2015
Messages
41
Updating a few of my posts from the winter as I finish up a few projects...
So I took a combination of all the advice here, and applied it to my solution, and wanted to thank everyone for their help. I took out all the existing screws I could, and replaced them with new, 1 size thicker, stainless hardware with some 5200. For the holes with broken off screws, I sealed those up with 5200, and then simply popped a new hole into the bracket, maybe 1/4" alongside the previous hole, and put new screws in there. I went a little crazy with the 5200 and it's a bit ugly to look at now, but it's underground, and the swim platform is solid once again. I dont foresee having to ever touch these for the life of the boat.
One small note, the new screws I got had hex heads instead of simply phillips, and made it infinitely easier to ratchet them into the transom. It would have been very difficult to get these down with just a phillips.
 
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