Remounting Center Console/T-top-1986 Fisherman

[jsylvester08]

Last season I got a t-Top for my 1986 Fisherman . The T-top attaches to the console so luckily I put a few new holes in the console but none in the floor. Unfortunately I had to pull a few screws to give me better access and when I went to re tighten the screws a few of them kept spinning. I assume the console/floor are original (I've only had her 5 years) so I assume a few of the holes have rotted or just striped. I wish I could redo the floors but that's way out of my range with a 9 month old waiting for her maiden voyage this summer. So what do I do? I have seen a few ideas to fill the holes with a dowel or epoxy and re drill and rescrew. With the added T-top I don't want to have the screws pull out while hitting a bad wave or something. Any help would be great. I'm in NY so I have a month or two before she goes back in the water.

[wattaway2]

If room allows some have taken a small Allen reach slipped it in the bad hole and turn it to clear out the bad wood then injected epoxy in the hole let it cure drill for the new screw and reset the anchor . Check to see if the old screw goes all the way thru as you might want to push in some kind of plug so the epoxy doesn’t just run thru

[Topflitegraphics]

Whenever a T-Top is mounted to a console it should be thru-bolted not screwed in. You need to replace those screws with stainless bolts with self locking nuts and you will never have this problem again

[uncleboo]

Wouldn't hurt to fabricate a backing plate to spread the load more.

[Topflitegraphics]

excellent advice uncleboo!

[otterhound]

I have an '89 20SF which should be very similar to yours and the core in my cockpit floor is balsa. Every mounting point for the console and leaning post was soft and rotted. I ended up taking a hole saw cutting out the top skin to dry everything out. Then I replaced the rotted core with resin soaked plywood discs and glassed over each one of them.
Rod

[bumpdraft]

A friend of mine has an old Mako that had Teak between the floor and the console. A few of the screw holes got stripped and he wanted the teak gone anyway, so he had three pieces of one inch Starboard, edges and corners rounded,fashioned to fit under console. We sealed the old holes, drilled and then screwed the Starboard to the deck. We basically screwed the console to the Starboard. His t top was new, so the deck was solid where attached and its attached to the console as well.

[jsylvester08]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm pulling her out of storage next weekend so I need to figure out what to do. I don't know if I feel comfortable cutting open the deck as I haven't worked with gel coat before. For this season I may just fill the holes with some 2 part epoxy and redrill them. I'll try to post some picture of my progress.

[oldfielder]

I had a similar problem and the dowel/g-flex worked great and held very well. I overdrilled a bit so I could get a bit more in there to bite when I screwed it down.