Retaining Barrel Nuts in Hatch Covers.

[Ratking20]

On the fish box hatches on my 255 CONQUEST a bunch of screws are coming out. The receiver beds--not sure of [the nomenclature]--for the screws are coming out. [These fasteners] attach the hinge for the fish box.

Would epoxy (or anything else) be strong enough to hold the beds in place?

Any help would be great.

[Changed TOPIC to match the actual topic.--jimh]

[jimh]

By "receiver bed" do you mean a sex bolt that is often called a barrel nut in marine hardware jargon?

For images of "sex bolts" browse this search page result:

https://www.google.com/search?q=sex+bolt&source=lnms&tbm=isch

[jimh]

Would epoxy...be strong enough to hold the beds in place?

Epoxy is an excellent adhesive for bonding polar material. What material are the "beds" made from?

[Ratking20]

[The part earlier called a "receiver bed"] looks like a barrel nut [I] guess.

[NLA01]

Look at the barrel nuts here
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/OEM.html#barrelNuts

Just replace the barrel nuts if that is what it is. I am assuming it in on the lids to the fish box. The original barrel nuts will deteriorate over time. Use needle nose pliers to hold whats left of the end and unscrew the screw and then replace.

[Ratking20]

The barrel is the piece that cane out. I think they are still in tact. But the barrel has slid out of the fiberglass. Im looking for a good glue to set them back in

[jimh]

Looks like a barrel nut i guess.

Then I will guess you are asking about how to retain a barrel nut.

The flange of the barrel nut bears upon the surface of the material it is inserted into.

When the bolt it tightened onto the barrel nut, tension is exerted on the surface of the material and retains the barrel nut. A barrel nut and a machine screw work just like a hex nut and a machine screw. You do not normally use an adhesive to retain a hex nut; the tension in the fastener retains the hex nut, often aided by a lock nut. In the case of a barrel nut and a machine screw, a locknut probably cannot be used. Use thread locker on the threads to prevent the machine screw from becoming loose in the barrel nut.

[jimh]

Im looking for a good glue to set them back in

I don't recommend you use "a good glue" to adhere the barrel nut to the surface of the material they are trying to retain.

If threaded fasteners are becoming loose, the remedy is to use a thread locker.

[jimh]

Do the "receiver beds" that you "guess" might be barrel nuts have a slotted head or a Phillips head?

[jimh]

Has there been an enlargement in the holes in the molded hatch covers so that the (the loose threaded parts that you guess might be) barrel nuts or sex bolts no longer fit into the holes with a snug press fit?

[whalerron]

I had the same problem with the fasteners that hold the hinges to the hatch covers on my 2004 Dauntless 220. The fasteners are indeed "sex bolts" and the heads broke off on the female side of each of the bolts. Sue at Twin Cities Marine told me that they replace "a lot" of these every year. So, she has plenty in stock.

When mine first broke, I thought they had pulled through the cover, but closer inspection showed that corrosion was the cause. The corrosion weakened the metal until the head finally came off.

- ron

[jimh]

Regarding the nomenclature to describe these fasteners, there is a Wikipedia article that calls them sex-bolts, but the marine hardware manufacturer BECKSON calls them barrel nuts. I prefer barrel nuts on the basis that the manufacturer of this product calls them by that name. I also find barrel nut to be more descriptive than sex-bolt. Here barrel refers to a cylindrical object akin a rifle barrel, not to a whiskey barrel.

[whalerron]

The name used for these fasteners does seem to be a preferential term. Apex Fasteners refers to them as sex bolts https://apexfasteners.com/fasteners/sex-bolt but I also don’t like that name. Curiously, my brother, who is a mechanical engineer in the trucking industry, and my high school senior nephew both refer to these fasteners as sex bolts.

I do wonder if the barrel bolts being used by Whaler are brass or bronze. Brass is a combination of copper and zinc and, in a marine environment, the zinc is sacrificial and it will separate out from the metal leaving just the copper behind. The broken fasteners on my boat were very brittle and they looked like they were copper. The replacements from Whaler look like they are made of brass. Is there a way to visually tell the difference between brass and bronze?

[Crusty the Clam]

Hi Ratking
Are you saying that the female and male ends are unscrewing and then the female part falls out of the hole in the cover? That’s how I’m envisioning what the problem is, because that’s the only way the female “barrel” would fall out. Normally the two ends would be screwed firmly together. Each end of the two parts has a flange (like the head of a nail) that bears against the lid in one side and hinge in the other. The combo should not be able to pull out either direction.

As Jim said, the female should be a press fit. And each end will have a hex Allen key hole to tighten from both sides (could also be a screw slot or phillips). The female end shouldn’t fall out once right even if it’s not a press fit.

But what I’m saying only makes sense of my understanding is correct.

Long and short, if you do want to “glue” the female end in place, you could use 4200. But whatever you use, avoid getting any adhesive inside the barrel or it could be a bear if you have to remove the hinges. Clean (acetone) and very lightly scuff the outside of the barrel for a better surface for the adhesive to grab.

If you need threadlocker, clean the inside of the barrel and the male thread well with acetone. Dry, then a little dab ‘ll do ya. Use blue not red so you can unscreened them if needed to replace hinges, the cover, etc.

Hope that helps.

PS I’d not use epoxy. It’s really for “permanent” situations, can be a bit messy, needs a roughed surface to key on, needs a “gap” to fill in order to have strength , and if you get any on the threads it’ll be a bear.