Dear friends, i have a hunter 30 1981, i am going to install new deck organizer (2) and some rope cluches and winches on the deck to the port and starboard side of the hatch, the old equipment are not thrue deck and unfortunatly the new equipment have different screw dimensions, thus i need to install them threw deck, i am worry if i drill if there is any electric wire that accidently will be damaged. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you
drilling thrue deck
- Thread starter chokrisandy
- Start date
On my 1980 H30 all of the fore and aft wires wires run off to the sides of the boats. So I think you should have no electrical issues thru bolting the new stuff on the deck.
You may want to check if there is any metal (alum) in the areas where you want to mount any hardwarel These areas are normally void of non-skid and they will allow you to drill and tap the needed machine screws/bolts.
Also check that there is not a headliner in the way. Basically the headliner makes a second surface that prevents access to the screws and you would have to install an access panel by cutting out the headliner. you can check at the mast post. Should be an access panel to get to the mast wiring. If they are running in the space between the headliner and the deck proper it will be obvious.
Thank you for your reply
H30 gary, what about the ceiling light, i see the wire exiting from the ceiling but i dont know where they come from
Steve Dion, do you recomend no to do any throu hull drilling at all and instead using the existing alum plate, if so do i need to do any threding ?
Bill, the equipment i am installing are nor near the mast, any recommendation ?
H30 gary, what about the ceiling light, i see the wire exiting from the ceiling but i dont know where they come from
Steve Dion, do you recomend no to do any throu hull drilling at all and instead using the existing alum plate, if so do i need to do any threding ?
Bill, the equipment i am installing are nor near the mast, any recommendation ?
If there is a head liner it will be all over. ie you will have a deck proper and under that is an air space then the headliner. I only suggested checking at the mast as that is an easy place to check.
Forgot about the ceiling light; that would be about the only one you could possibly hit. My guess is the organizers will be forward of the light and the clutches and winches will be well aft.
The others are right that you should be able to drill and tap into the aluminum plate without going all the way through the headliner. I installed some cleats on my boat this way. You do have to tap (put threads in) the aluminum to accept the screws.
A prior owner did install two winches on my boat by through bolting through the headliner. This didn't distort the liner any, so I assume there was not much of an air gap between the liner and the deck in this area.
The others are right that you should be able to drill and tap into the aluminum plate without going all the way through the headliner. I installed some cleats on my boat this way. You do have to tap (put threads in) the aluminum to accept the screws.
A prior owner did install two winches on my boat by through bolting through the headliner. This didn't distort the liner any, so I assume there was not much of an air gap between the liner and the deck in this area.
I think that drilling and taping is a much better idea (if that is an option). If you plan on thru drilling you will need to put epoxy between the deck and headliner to seal the opening and prevent the headliner/deck from flexing.
Organizers are high force devices if you are turning an angle of more than 30ish degrees and need to be through bolted. If the organizer comes adrift it will be at a bad time.
Steve do you know how thick is the alum plate?, some places are void like you mentioned other places looks not void.
Bill i have a friend of mine he hace a cal 36 all his winches, rope clutches and other fixture are thrue deck, mine is hunter 30 , some angles are about 30 or more, what do you recommend ?
Thank you
Bill i have a friend of mine he hace a cal 36 all his winches, rope clutches and other fixture are thrue deck, mine is hunter 30 , some angles are about 30 or more, what do you recommend ?
Thank you
I agree with Bill.
tapping the fiberglass is not a good way to attach a fitting unless the fiberglass is at least a half inch thick. your fiberglass wont be that thick, although the total deck thickness will be at least a half inch or thicker...
it needs to be thru bolted using large washers or a backing plate.
there are many reasons you never want it to tear out, and the damage that it will do to your deck and dodger could be the least of them.
if anyone is standing or sitting in the bight when the load gets high enough to tear it loose.... well, loads that high dont just cause scratches and bruises. its going to ruin an otherwise perfect day, for everyone.
tapping the fiberglass is not a good way to attach a fitting unless the fiberglass is at least a half inch thick. your fiberglass wont be that thick, although the total deck thickness will be at least a half inch or thicker...
it needs to be thru bolted using large washers or a backing plate.
there are many reasons you never want it to tear out, and the damage that it will do to your deck and dodger could be the least of them.
if anyone is standing or sitting in the bight when the load gets high enough to tear it loose.... well, loads that high dont just cause scratches and bruises. its going to ruin an otherwise perfect day, for everyone.
Here is a photo of the deck layout of my 1980 H30. The organizer, far right, is not thru bolted, but rather is bolted into the aluminum plate embedded in the deck. The mounting is very solid. Likewise the stoppers are bolted to the aluminum plate, as is the winch closest to the hatch. The more outboard winch, which was installed by a prior owner (and which serves no useful purpose as far as I can tell), is thru-bolted. So, you can drill and tap, or thru-bolt, whatever floats your boat, so to speak.
A downside to drilling and tapping as I see it is that you have stainless bolts threaded into aluminum, so there is potential for corrosion. I use plenty of Tuff-gel on the bolt threads and bed the fittings with butyl tape so hopefully this won't be an issue. Even thru-bolting, some Tuff-gel would probably be a good idea.
A downside to drilling and tapping as I see it is that you have stainless bolts threaded into aluminum, so there is potential for corrosion. I use plenty of Tuff-gel on the bolt threads and bed the fittings with butyl tape so hopefully this won't be an issue. Even thru-bolting, some Tuff-gel would probably be a good idea.
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I'm with H30Gary on this one. I had to replace my deck organizers and I tapped through the aluminum plate. There is no reason to through bolt them. They have a side load,not a pulling load. It will be more important to use the proper size bolt to hold them down than through bolting with a big backing plate. They came from the factory with deck organizers that are tapped into the aluminum plate. Mine were on the boat more than 20 years before I replaced them and the only reason I replaced them was for better sheaves.