loose bow rail and stanchions

[boatman712]

I have an '04 Four Winns 378 Vista and after removing the shrink wrap last week I noticed that there were a couple of stanchions that had loose bolts and a few had small cracks at their base. I noticed this condition to some degree last summer when I bought the boat but it seemes to have gotten even worse after the winter and I realize that this problem must be taken care of as soon as possible. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if so how did you handle it.

 

[ezuskin]

If the rail bases are cracking they are probably not stainless, but the chrome plated stuff. I just bought 90 fittings for an '82 boat and was given some tips for replacing.
Screws are probably through bolted so one person gets a socket from below and the other unscrews from above.

Clean up old caulk

Use a countersink bit to make a shallow "pool" around the screw hole which you will fill with caulk so that when you insert the screw through the base its threads will pick up the caulk as it threads through the hole.

He also suggested not using 5200 as you will never get them off if necessary.

I like the Boat Life Lifeseal hybrid polyurethane/silicone caulk for above/below waterline.

I hve not tried this yet but it sounds like a decent plan. Having a much newer boat might make you less interested in drilling your boat. You just need to seal the screw holes, not the entire fitting.

Eddie

 

[stmbtwle]

Not familiar with that boat but you may have a water intrusion problem in the deck, too (through the bolt holes).