Removing Deck Hardware / What To Do With the Holes?

[Maine Sail]

Hi All,

I wanted to share a method I have used as a temporary and sometimes permanent solution for the holes when deck hardware has been moved or removed.

Our boat has been upgraded to self tailing winches and we had not used the fixed cleats on the cockpit coaming since we bought the boat. The kids were banging heads on them so I figured it was time for them to go..

Here's what I did..

To make this an easy one person job I simply use my cordless impact wrench. This allows the nuts to be removed from one side only using no wrench or screw driver on deck.

Less Than 30 seconds later and notice the absolute lack of rust or moisture. These cleats were still bone dry after 29 years!!!! Why? Butyl tape as a bedding compound!!

To be continued limited to five images including smilies, Img and HTML IMG tags. We'll need to fix that....

 

[Maine Sail]

Continued..

Yep still totally flexible and water proof after nearly 30 years! Oh and SUPER EASY TO REMOVE!! These cleats used to see decent loads, before the ST's so it's PROOF you don't need to GLUE mechanically fastened hardware onto your boat!!

For the butyl doubters and pro 5200 crowd I present 29 year old BONE DRY CORE!!

Spider crazing/cracking is caused by not feathering or beveling the edges of the hole drilled through gelcoat.

I countersunk each hole:

Choose a fastener to fill the hole? I prefer what are called Truss Head fasteners as there are less points for potential leakage and the head sits nice and low to the deck. The Truss Head is all the way to the left:

Looks like more "To be continued" ..

 

[Maine Sail]

More Continued...

Wow this five image tag thing is a PITA!!!


Here's the rest:


I used gray 1/2" wide by 1/16" thick butyl tape to install the fasteners used to hide the holes:[/B]

I wraped & mold the butyl into a cone so it fits down into the countersunk hole and gives a 100% seal:

Tighten everything down with the impact driver:

Where the cleat used to be and can be again. This is a lot easier than trying to match a gelcoat color and then create a non skid pattern that matches:

This project, removing two cleats and filling the holes with Truss Head machine screws, took me about a half hours total time including cleaning up the non skid with a Magic Eraser, paint thinner and some Acetone.

Just another option for a question I see here often..

 

[Ross]

Mainesail, Nice work and a fine method. Butyl caulk is awsome. stufff.

Ross

 

[Brian D]

Dude, come work on my boat, please.

 

[Ross]

Mainesail, Your photos leave me with great envy. I am still using film but I am not certain that my Canon could produce images like those you publish . I take my hat off to you. Damn my fat fingers and the shift key!
Change of subject. On brazing copper alloys have you had the opportunity to use any Harris Blockade copper alloy brazing material? It is a silicon copper alloy. Works better that the phosphor copper alloys and with flux will form bonds with stainless steel and such things as coins and low alloy steel. It is not the answer to all of your questions but has some posibilities.

 

[Maine Sail]

Mainesail, Your photos leave me with great envy. I am still using film but I am not certain that my Canon could produce images like those you publish . I take my hat off to you. Damn my fat fingers and the shift key!
Change of subject. On brazing copper alloys have you had the opportunity to use any Harris Blockade copper alloy brazing material? It is a silicon copper alloy. Works better that the phosphor copper alloys and with flux will form bonds with stainless steel and such things as coins and low alloy steel. It is not the answer to all of your questions but has some posibilities.

Ross I have not tried it. My welding/brazing skills are weak and with friends who own marine businesses it's easy to get stainless welding done so it continues to be weak. I prefer a beautiful well executed weld to my "gob" welds any day of the week.

I don't know if I'd trust brazing in a critical application though and most of my welded pieces are fairly critical..

 

[Ross]

For copper to copper or alloys to copper or other alloys it is awesome. Nearly the equivilant to silver solder at the same price per pound as silver is by the ounce.