LOOSE SCREWS !!!

CORNFIELD

New member
Hello ,

Looking for a little assistance reattaching the fiberglass side interiors to the side of my 19' C dory Angler. No matter what I do the screws pull out and cause vibration which has cracked the bottom edge side of the drivers seat above the floor. I primarily use our C Dory for fishing in the San Francisco Bay and outside the Golden Gate and I have replaced the side screws twice to no avail and on our last trip out in fairly rough conditions they all came out on both sides and I'm afraid the vibration will continue to cause damage. Any suggestions on how to reattach securely would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve
 
CORNFIELD":ymy757e5 said:
Hello ,

Looking for a little assistance reattaching the fiberglass side interiors to the side of my 19' C dory Angler. No matter what I do the screws pull out and cause vibration which has cracked the bottom edge side of the drivers seat above the floor. I primarily use our C Dory for fishing in the San Francisco Bay and outside the Golden Gate and I have replaced the side screws twice to no avail and on our last trip out in fairly rough conditions they all came out on both sides and I'm afraid the vibration will continue to cause damage. Any suggestions on how to reattach securely would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve

Steve- Any chance you can get to the back side to use machine screws and nylock nuts? I use them in situations like this, sometimes doubled up (two nuts) turned against each other to stop the un-threadng. Blue Thread-Lock also helps stop the problem.

If you can't get to the back side, maybe you could use stainless or monel pop-rivets. They can be drilled out later if necessary for disassembly. They do work better with washers, though, such as s.s. fender washers, or backing plates.

It's also possible, while the parts are disassembled, to epoxy the Nylock nuts and s. s. washers to the back sides, then thread into them without the usual access to the back sides with a wrench. You can even pull the nuts and washers along with the epoxy (JB Weld suggested) down to the backside of the hole providing you can push a wire in through the hole and out somewhere where they can be added with a bend in the end of the wire, then pulled down to the backside until they set, then pull the bent wire out, leaving the nut and washer in place and ready for use. As my dad used to say, "When there's a will, there's a way!"

There are also threaded inserts that are set with a pop rivet tool which can be used, probably best again with epoxy for a firmer hold, which don't require access to the back side. I'm not sure if they're available in s.s., monel, or something else generally non-corrosive, though. I'm also not sure about their holding power or reluctance to unthread / back out.

Hope this helps you get started.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
I've had good luck with oversizing the hole and filling with marine tex epoxy than drilling an undersize hole in epoxy before its extremely hard and attaching hardware.
 
Just went out and checked my 2004 19a. All is well. Looks like the screws go into 1x3 plastic blocks bonded to bottom side of the deck and some screws, probably to hold the blocks whille bonding agent cured. Cant imagine what kind of forces that would pull those long screws out of that plastic. I think my next move would be to try longer screws with courser threads. Vern/C-Dog
 
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