Loose Helm Seat Base: 1987 V20

DiverDux · #1 05-14-2014, 06:56 PM

We (my brother and I) own an 87 V20 cuddy IO. The base to the pedestal seat at the helm is loose. It can be tightened down, but it loosens again in a short period of time.

My brother lifted the floor over the gas tank, hoping to gain access to the area below the base. The fix was to put a plate below the base and put bolts and nylanuts hoping that that would remedy the problem. What he found was 2x2 wood surrounding the outside top edge of the tank and spray-in foam filling any voids.

He promptly replaced the floor deciding to research the repair before tearing anything out.

Suggestions? Is there any other access to this area? Has anyone dealt with this issue? If so, what did you do?

Thanks in advance!

smokeonthewater · #2 05-14-2014, 07:02 PM

access to the area can be had by simply cutting a hole nearby and installing a round snap in hatch BUT the REASON it keeps getting loose is the real problem. 10:1 you have a rotting floor and likely stringers too.... Sorry but that is the reality of 99% of old fiberglass boats

Destroyer · #3 05-15-2014, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smokeonthewater

access to the area can be had by simply cutting a hole nearby and installing a round snap in hatch BUT the REASON it keeps getting loose is the real problem. 10:1 you have a rotting floor and likely stringers too.... Sorry but that is the reality of 99% of old fiberglass boats

Yep, what Smoke said. Hate to say it, but if the floor is soft anywhere then that's the cause of your problems, and really, there's only one fix for it. The 3 R's.... Remove, Repair and Replace.

DiverDux · #4 05-15-2014, 04:31 PM

I'm pretty new to this whole fix your boat thing, but the floor is not soft at all. I'm not saying you guys are wrong about the floor, but currently it shows no signs of being compromised with moisture. I really hope my floor isn't rotted, keep your fingers crossed for us!

I don't know how the base is attached to the floor. I am assuming (yeah, I know what they say about assumptions) that the base is just screwed down to the floor. That is why (assuming here again) we are able to tighten it back down. If a bolt was on the backside and vibrated loose, we would not be able to tighten the bolt as the nut would just spin in the absense of something (a wrench) holding the nut in place. I also suspect that the previous owner may have been a little hard on the seat and that is where this issue manifested itself.

Does anyone know if the seat bases on these boats are screwed to the floor or are bolted through?

Striper80 · #5 05-15-2014, 06:00 PM

On my 18 cc the seat bases were a combo of through bolted and screwed. My floor was rotten but my bases never really loosened up. I would think yours were probably installed the same way. You could back the screws out a little and look at the threads. That would give you an idea of how they're fastened.

SkunkBoat · #6 05-15-2014, 09:27 PM

I had a really loose pedestal on my 84. half the screws were loose but they spun. the other half didnt budge and the heads stripped trying to loosen them. It was a ***** removing it, had to use saws-all between deck & pedestal to cut screws.

The screws are in anchors that press themselves into the wood when tightened. Wood gets soft near the screws from water intrusion but only right near the holes. Your deck may be ok elsewhere.

When the pedestal came off, there was already an access hole UNDER the center of the pedestal. It was the passenger seat so I just patched the deck over, more space for cooler...

You can make repair to wood & then use stainless "blind anchors".(can't remember what they call them but the same principle as a molly bolt).
You drill a certain size hole, they go in the hole and you hold them in place with this plastic attachment that goes thru the pedestal screw hole, screw in the screw and there you have it.

Found them at West Marine:GARELICK Stainless-Steel Toggle Anchor Bolts

Actually, I used them on the driver seat in 2 of the holes. EASY!