Starboard repair

[seadaddler]

The seats on the stern of most Hunters are starboard with teak wood slats on top and are held on to the stainless frame with screws from under and over the years from removing them every summer here in florida while on vacation up north the screws get loose and I have gone a bigger size but they still become loose and even fall out.
I am thinking of filling in the holes with some kind of epoxy or west system,what should I use to fill in the holes and than re screw into the same holes.
Nick

 

[Benny17441]

I think you may be overdoing it. We have never removed ours in 10 years nor have covers for them. We apply a coat a varnish about every two years and they look and feel just fine. Don't know about the best epoxy for that purpose and defer to others.

 

[Steve Dion]

We removed the slats completely and purchased bottomsiders from this site.

 

[chuckwayne]

Ditto! we removed the slats and made another layer of starboard to add some stiffness. The bottomsiders work great on top.

 

[artboas]

Here's the solution

The seats on the stern of most Hunters are starboard with teak wood slats on top and are held on to the stainless frame with screws from under and over the years from removing them every summer here in florida while on vacation up north the screws get loose and I have gone a bigger size but they still become loose and even fall out.
I am thinking of filling in the holes with some kind of epoxy or west system,what should I use to fill in the holes and than re screw into the same holes.
Nick

You can buy threaded insets that you can either press, or thread, into the starboard. They are made from brass.
The one you need has a 10-24 internal thread
Now, taking them on and off is a breeze, because it is machine screws: not self tapping thread

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

You can buy threaded insets that you can either press, or thread, into the starboard. They are made from brass.
The one you need has a 10-24 internal thread
Now, taking them on and off is a breeze, because it is machine screws: not self tapping thread

Artboas' threaded inserts are your #1 choice for a system where you want to remove the seats every year. Make sure to use an anti-seize on the threads or you'll unscrew the whole assembly.

A second rate solution but perhaps a little quicker is to use a small soldering gun and melt some polyethylene (waste poly object or whatever) into the old holes. Work it in with the hot tip of the soldering gun.

I'm afraid I can attest to the fact that nothing "really" sticks well to polyethylene after looking at trying to attach a flange to my poly water tank. Tried numerous adhesives recommended for poly but none were too reliable.

I did my slats with five coats of epoxy resin a few years ago and they still look like wet varnish today. Epoxy may even withstand the Florida sun but be sure to use several coats of varnish to protect the epoxy.

 

[seadaddler]

Great Info

Thanks guys aand all good help to take in for sure,I do have cushions on top of them and when I leave Florida for 2 or 3 months been stripping everything off her to protect from the sun.
Maybe one of these days I will remove the slats and put that new deck teak like they use on some of the new Hunters.
Nick

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Re: Great Info

This may sound stupid, but once you have found a way to secure them properly, why not simply put a cover over them if you feel they need protection from the sun while you are away ? It would save you the time and effort to remove them.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

This may sound stupid, but once you have found a way to secure them properly, why not simply put a cover over them if you feel they need protection from the sun while you are away ? It would save you the time and effort to remove them.

Makes way too much sense ! ! !

As Claude says if they are covered with, say white Sunbrella, they should remain at almost ambient temperature while you are away.

 

[seadaddler]

Cleaning

Well not only do I take them off for protection but I also give the stainless a good polishing and when I take them off you would not believe how much rust staining is on the hidden parts.
nick

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

You could replace the mostly-worthless Starboard with wood. Starboard should NEVER be used for anything structural-- essentially, it is a particle board with no inherent strength.

 

[seadaddler]

All fixed

The starboard stern seats are not structual at all just used as a flat material to sit on and Hunter and many others have been using starboard for tthis for many years.
But I took a great idea some one suggested and yesterday put threaded brass inserts with expoxy and will install today back on my boat,thanks to all and Ralf Johston.
They are covered with cushions all year long but when I leave for 2 months like this year we went up to NY and a road trip out west I strip everything on the outside of the boat and yearly waxing all stainless and boat,its a 07 and I do like to keep it looking good keep everything in good working order and so making improvements I do enjoy doing and cleaning and polishing and waxing and maintance of all rigging and equipment is a must with a sailboat.
Thanks again to all for help.
Nick

 

[Cool_Change]

If you don't mind slightly seeing the heads....I drilled the holes right thru the teak, countersunk the holes from the top and switched from screws to bolts (with the nuts on the underside of the seat/frame). Now I can take them off when hauling out for the winter, refinish as necessary and bolt back on in the spring.

 

[artboas]

In all due respect...

If you don't mind slightly seeing the heads....I drilled the holes right thru the teak, countersunk the holes from the top and switched from screws to bolts (with the nuts on the underside of the seat/frame). Now I can take them off when hauling out for the winter, refinish as necessary and bolt back on in the spring.

Yuk! That just would look bad.
As I noted earlier, the threaded inserts are super-easy to put in, and then they just unscrew in a snap. They are really cheap, and you can get them anywhere.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

Re: All fixed

Re: 'The starboard stern seats are not structual at all just used as a flat material to sit on and Hunter and many others have been using starboard for tthis for many years.'

Perhaps my experience comes from the boat-repairing and boatbuilding side more than the maintaining-with-a-'that's-good-enough'-appraisal side. I have seen enough broken Starboard to know its attributes and drawbacks well.

Also, a seat IS structural-- any seat for your bottom could just as well be stood upon; and point-loading or flexing Starboard under load is the easiest way to break it. A shattered Starboard seat, or one torn from its screws, could land an unsuspecting (and perhaps injured) guest in the water. I do not applaud Hunter and other builders for using this junk for pulpit seats. I can assure you, however, that the reason they use it is not because it is 'good enough' (for it is only marginal at best, in this application) but because it is cheap to buy and cheap to install, from a production standpoint, especially when compared to using actual wood.

A piece of wood, even plywood, properly reinforced, would do the job much better and be compatible with all bedding compounds and finishes. If you insist on using Starboard, reinforce the plate with wood (or even metal angle) ribs on the bottom. Letting the screw heads show is fine so long as they are sufficiently countersunk to avoid tearing swimsuits. (Use quality screws and polish the heads first.) Screwing into Starboard from the bottom, into a blind hole, especially with wood screws, is bound to prove unreliable.

Once again, friends, be advised that advice I offer on this site is from the point-of-view of a widely-experienced builder/repairer with 40 years' experience in the business. The reader chooses to accept such expertise, or not; but please remember it is well-meant (and cost-effective!).