REPLACING BOW CLEATS 1999 SEA RAY 180 BOWRIDER

[BOBMELBOURNE]

THERE SEEMS TO BE NO ACCESS TO REPLACE THE ORIGINAL BOW CLEATS, ANY SUGGESTIONS THANK YOU BOBMELBOURNE

 

[alldodge]

Howdy Bob

Going to need some pics of what your looking at. Use something like photobucket or google

 

[jbcurt00]

I closed the other topic you started about the cleats. One is enough.

Not sure why you posted this in the forum issues and problems subforum. This is about the forum, its server, the forum software and access to the forums, not boat questions or problems.

Moved to the boat work forum, the Restoration, boat repair forum

Thanks

Welcome to iboats

Alldodge is correct, pix please.

The cleats were installed before the upper and lower hull were joined, so access is probably limited

 

[Grub54891]

Different boat than mine, but same issue. I removed some seating area backrest's, and drilled 6" holes with a holesaw, and did the work. After putting the seating back on, no one can tell. If you cant cover the holes you may need to install a deck plate to gain access.

 

[Scott Danforth]

The cleats are installed in the top cap prior to being dropped onto the hull. Cleats are intended to outlive the design life of the boat

 

[Woodonglass]

To try and answer your question if you have some ability with fiberglass repairs, you can get this done without to much work. The quick and dirty method is to cut about a 1" by 3" slot in the area where the cleat needs to be replaced. You then use a piece of 3/4"x 2 3/4" by 5" plywood coated with Resin and Glass with a string attached to the center (drill a hole for this) Reach inside the slot and clean the underside as best you can with acetone. Use a putty knife to spread some Thickened resin on the inside of the slot and then insert the piece of wood and use the string to pull it up tight against the bottom of the deck. This will mash the thickened resin out to act as glue. You can push the wood down and add more if needed. Fabricate a U shaped piece of wood to attach the string to in order to hold the backer plate in place for 45 mins. The Thickened resin will ooze out and fill the cut out slot. Once it's hardened you can sand and fair the glass. The hardest part will be to match the color to make it not so noticeable. When it's the way you like it, drill some holes to mount the cleats using Garelick hardware. Coat the bolts and holes with Thickened resin when you install and you'll be back in business.

I hope this ALL makes sense.

https://www.amazon.com/Garelick-Toggler-Stainless-Toggle-Anchors/dp/B01K2P6YEI

 

[bruceb58]

Check out the video on this link.

http://www.boatoutfitters.com/accon-...-pop-up-cleats

The cleats that they use here are a little bit pricey but it can give you ideas on how to do a backing plate from the top.

I would also explore adding an access hole behind a seat and using an access cover.

 

[Brettsss]

I like the look of those anchor bolts !

 

[bruceb58]

I like the look of those anchor bolts !

But you do not want them to mount cleats. There is not enough meat there behind the cleat. I use those all the time for mounting heavy items on walls. I would never use them on a boat cleat.

 

[Woodonglass]

Uhmm the Garelick Toggle bolts are NOT the same as Toggle bolts used for Sheet rock and home construction. Much more heavy duty. They will carry much more of a load. Also with the added backer plate as described they would work very well. You could also try to use SS T-nuts if you carefully drill the pilot holes in both the backer and the Glass. Either method will get the job done. Once you get your hands on the Garelick Toggles you'll see they are really nice fasteners. This video shows how they are installed starting at the 4:25 mark.