Ericson 38 Shroud U-Bolt sheared off from Deck. Wondering if this UBolt is threaded into the deck? Or is it welded... Any advice?

Nov 22, 2011
1,192
Ericson 26-2 San Pedro, CA
Definitely not "threaded into the deck." And yes the EYO forum will be by far the best place to get your questions answered on this.
 

dmax

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Jul 29, 2018
969
O'Day 35 Buzzards Bay
Those are Navtec U-Bolt chain plates, the part that broke looks like this:
navtec_ubolt.gif


The two legs of the u-bolt go through the deck and attach to a block that is tied into the hull. Unfortunately, the block is often made of aluminum and the stainless u-bolt and aluminum get corroded and stuck making it difficult or impossible to remove without destroying the chain plate. This is what the block below decks looks like:
navtec_base.gif


I had to cut the u-bolts on mine to get them out (unscrewed each leg after cutting). I had Gaurhauer Marine make up some new u-bolts and was able to re-use the aluminum blocks, with plenty of tef-gel so hopefully they won't corrode again. You're going to want to remove and inspect all your chainplates. That's a lot of corrosion. Make sure you seal them up when re-installing.
 
Apr 8, 2010
1,942
Ericson Yachts Olson 34 28400 Portland OR
Note that there can be bimetallic corrosion IF water leaks are allowed down thru around the U-bolts. Some owners of many kinds of boats believe that the original sealant will last forever. Not true. At all. Not even a little bit.
About 30 years is a good point to pull and re-bed all (deck) penetrations. Ericson's will probably go that long, and lesser craft will be lucky to make it to 20 years.

While waiting for your new parts from Gauhauer, route out the coring around the holes, over drill, epoxy, and re-drill. We did that on the same fittings on our '88 boat, last year. Our original SS fittings were OK, and no deck leaks, yet.
And, as Stu and Alan are urging, log in at the Ericson Owners' site.
www. ericsonyachts.org.