Bow eye bolt just came out...! Need help on repair.

[pktaske]

I was coming home yesterday and about 1/4 mi from the house I noticed the boat was about 6" from the winch. I knew it was the eybolt as at the dock it looked a little like the lower part had pulled about a 1/8" out. Anyways, when I examined the u bolt, the side that was loose looked about 1.5" shorter than the other one. The boat itself looks ok except there are two holes in it now where the eye bolt was. The u-bolt came out 'clean' (ie - it didnt pull the backing plate or washers through any rotting wood. I suspect the bolts on the backside came loose and fell off (weird, right?). Problem now is that I can't access the back side where the backing plate is (I have a 1986 Sea Sprite fiberglass bow rider). How do I gain access to the other side? Do I have to cut through the storage compartment under the front cushions? If so, how big should the hole be?

thanks..

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Bow eye bolt just came out...! Need help on repair.

Yup, it sounds like you'll have to cut that hole inside the storage compartment. Be careful that you don't damage anything behind the cutout. I'd use a Dremel tool with a saw blade, myself, but you can do it as you like. Be very careful if you use something like a saber saw. If you think you'll have trouble locating the hole, get a 6" long drill bit and drill through from the outside of the bow.

Cut it big enough so you can get a socket on an extension to both nuts. I don't know what sort of backing plate your boat had, but it may have fallen down to the bottom of the hull at the bow. You might be able to fish it out through your new hole with a flexible magnetic pickup too. If not, you'll have to fabricate a new backup plate, I'd think.

When you reinstall the bow eye, consider using nylon-insert nuts to keep vibration from loosening up the nuts again.

Edit to add: You know, the manufacturer might have glassed the backup plate into the hull. I don't know for sure, but, you might start out by using a hole saw after drilling those locating holes with the long drill bit. Two 1" holes would let you shine a light in one while checking in the other one. If the backup plate is there, you could install those nuts through the holesaw holes, then use a standard stainless steel snap-in hole plug to fill them. That'd be a neat solution. It's worth a look, I think. If you have to deal with a missing backup plate, you can still make a cutout of another shape.

 

[pktaske]

Re: Bow eye bolt just came out...! Need help on repair.

I was going to use the Dremel but that hole saw idea sounds better. One of the problems looks to be the amount of distance from the leading bow edge to the storage compartment...must be at least a foot if not more. The eye bolt holes are angled up enough so if I stick a long drill bit in from the front it just might come through the top of the boat! Well, I'm going to have at it this weekend. Flounder season just ended here in NJ and I'm waiting a couple weeks for the stripers so I have some time to do this right. thanks for the great advice...

question - would a strong magnet be able to tell me if there is a plate glassed in? I'm thinking it wont be all that visible to the naked eye.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Bow eye bolt just came out...! Need help on repair.

it should not be glassed in. these go in after the glassing, before the cap goes on.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Bow eye bolt just came out...! Need help on repair.

Ah...the angled holes will create a problem for the hole saw idea, I'm afraid, as will the distance from the inside of that compartment. Looks to me like you'll have to open a larger hole in the compartment to get at this.

As Tashasdaddy says, the backup plate probably isn't glassed in. If you had a straight shot at the holes, it would be worth checking, but if there's a sharp angle on the holes, it won't work out.

 

[The_Kid]

Re: Bow eye bolt just came out...! Need help on repair.

If you have to cut a hole you might want to install a screw out access plate like one if these. http://www.iboats.com/Seadog_Watertight_Inspection_Or_Access_Port/dm/view_id.39787

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Bow eye bolt just came out...! Need help on repair.

agree. good call Kid.