Man-o-War gudgeon repair

[gclaborn]

I have a 1977 Man-o-War and the screws holding the gudgeon on the stern no longer bite into the interior backing plate. Of course, the backing plate and nuts are completely inaccessible inside the hull. I attempted to repair this last Fall by replacing the screws with stainless steel butterfly bolts, but these just aren't doing the job either. I think there's nothing for it but to cut an access hole with a jigsaw through the deck, make the repair with a new backing plate / stainless bolts / lock nuts then put some sort of cover over the hole.
If anyone's done this before and can offer some suggestions / tips, I'm all ears.
Thanks!

[gclaborn]

Completed the job yesterday. Cut the hole with a 4.25" hole saw bit and fashioned the backing plate out of 2 strips of galvanized angle iron I had lying around. The old backing plate is 14" wide, so I cut the angle iron to 15" and ran them horizontally to distribute force over the whole width. Gooped everything up with clear silicone before tightening things down. Used stainless hdw and nylon locknuts.
Covered the access hole with a 6" round white junction box cover. Rather than screwing it down thru the deck, I cut about a 7"X1.5" strip of pressure-treated 1/2" thick wood and drove a T thread into it. Drilled a hole in the center of the cover plate, slipped the wood strip under the deck and used another stainless machine bolt thru the hole into the T to tighten the wood strip up to the underside of the deck. Had to put a spacer between the cover and wood strip to keep the cover from flexing at the sides as the bolt was tightened. Siliconed around that, and should be ready to sail this afternoon!

[Leeway]

I know this is an old thread, but I had the same problem happen to me this weekend. I am thinking of doing something similar to what you did and was wondering if it is still holding up.

Looks like the previous owner also had the same problem because whatever they did to fix it has now failed.

I temporarily fixed the gudgeon to the stern using compression bolts for drywall. They held for the weekend, but I didn't use any sealant, so the stern cavity took on a lot of water. I am thinking of doing something similar to what you did and was wondering if it is still holding up.

I plan to use some 1/4" thick aluminum strips for the backing plates to make sure there is no corrosion.

Any tips from anyone else is welcome.

[Leeway]

I repaired the gudgeon similar to how gclaborn did it. I will have pictures to follow.

However, When I opened a hole in the deck near the stern I noticed that the flotation foam in the hull had broken up into little pieces and was scattered about the inside of the hull. I think it was originally only installed in the sides along the cockpit leaving the fore and aft cavities open.

I found the following site that has a some spray-in foam kits, but I was wondering if anyone had experience with this type of repair project or better, less expensive product before I purchase.

http://www.fomofoam.com/boat_ship_and_pontoon.htm

[clair hofmann]

The easiest way to close up the deck is a 6" access cover from a marine supply. Cut the proper size hole, seal and screw down the ring and screw in the cover. I used these to replace the black rubber access covers on a freind's Bucceneer when they finally dried and cracked. Empty 2 liter soda bottles fitt through these ports and make good cheap flotation. just fill up the cavity! Be sure to put the caps on. The aluminum strips for backing plates sound like a good idea.
Clair

[Leeway]

Hi Clair,

Using a 6" Deck Plate is exactly what I did. I still haven't had time to go through the pictures and post them yet, but I will eventually.

Good idea using the empty 2-liter bottles for flotation. I don't have that many lying around right now, but it is worth considering instead of the expensive slow rising foam. I dumped the boat three times the last time I went out and had no problems righting it, so I'm going to leave as-is for now. Since I have the back deck plate in I can put the rest of the project on hold until I come up with a proper solution.

I'm taking it out this weekend. Before I go I am going to change out the #10 phillips head bolts I used for the gudgeon and replacing with 1/4" hex bolts. The stainless steel phillips heads just strip too easy. I will have to drill out bigger holes, but that should not be a problem doing one at a time and leaving the rest attached as I go along.

[Leeway]

Changing out the #10's for 1/4" hex went without a hitch. I also got the front eye bolts on the trailer for the tie-downs.

Heading to the Wisconsin Northwoods in the morning for the labor day weekend. Hopefully I will have some decent wind on Lake George this weekend.

Everyone have a safe and happy holiday.

[Leeway]

Newly installed gudeon worked great, no leaks!

Now to get pictures uploaded of the repair.

[Leeway]

The easiest way to close up the deck is a 6" access cover from a marine supply. Cut the proper size hole, seal and screw down the ring and screw in the cover. I used these to replace the black rubber access covers on a freind's Bucceneer when they finally dried and cracked. Empty 2 liter soda bottles fitt through these ports and make good cheap flotation. just fill up the cavity! Be sure to put the caps on. The aluminum strips for backing plates sound like a good idea.
Clair

Clair,

I got an even better tip for flotation replacement than the empty 2-liter bottles. A guy on a Yahoo Group suggested using those foam noodles kids play with in swimming pools. I'm going to go that route because the noodles will be much easier and faster to get than accumulating all the empty bottles needed.

Regards,
Lee