1987 Montauk 17 Railing Fasteners

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
Theman8954
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2021 11:38 am

1987 Montauk 17 Railing Fasteners

Postby Theman8954 » Wed Aug 25, 2021 11:45 am

I am working on the bow and side rails on my 1987 MONTAUK 17 boat.

What are the proper screws to use to mount the brackets [rail bases] to the boat?

What are the proper screws to use that tighten the rails to the bracket [rail bases]?

The old-school where you tighten the screws and it pushes against the railing to hold it in place.

jimh
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Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: 1987 Montauk 17 Railing Fasteners

Postby jimh » Wed Aug 25, 2021 5:58 pm

The railing bases are attached to the hull using self-tapping screws stainless steel screws. The screws should be fastening into wood reinforcements concealed inside the hull. The size may be #8 or perhaps #10. Generally the embedded wood may be softened or the hole in the wood enlarged, so the original screws are not able to obtain a good purchase (grip). In some cases the embedded wood my have to drilled to larger diameter, and then the larger diameter hole in the embedded wood is filled with a mixture of epoxy resin and high-density filler material. This will provide a new surface for the self-tapping screws to be threaded into.

The screws that fasten the metal stainless steel railings to the metal stainless steel or or chrome plated rail bases are usually stainless machine screws with a fine pitch and size #10, or 10-32. These screws are often of a design called thread-cutting screws, as they will (more or less) cut their own threads into the material they are being threaded into. The machine screws often have a nylon washer associated so that there is a bit of compression available to allow the screw head to conform to the rounded surface of the tubular railing.

If you have any of the original screw fasteners remaining intact on your boat, you can use them as a model for the new fasteners you will purchase to use in this application.