130 SUPER SPORT Adding Cleat

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
omegain98
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:48 am

130 SUPER SPORT Adding Cleat

Postby omegain98 » Wed May 11, 2022 8:25 am

How should cleats be added to a 2007 130 SUPER SPORT?

jimh
Posts: 11670
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: 130 SUPER SPORT Adding Cleat

Postby jimh » Wed May 11, 2022 9:46 am

Because a cleat will exert a lot of force on the screw fasteners that are holding the cleat to the hull, a cleat should only be installed in locations where in the Unibond hull of a boat (for example, a130 SUPER SPORT boat) there is appropriate backing material into which the screw fasteners can obtain good purchase. (Here the word "purchase" is used as a noun and means "a firm hold", not as a verb to mean a transaction between seller and buyer.")

To determine the location of embedded reinforcement and backing material in the interior of a Unibond hull, obtain from Boston Whaler a mechanical drawing that shows the location and specifications for the embedded material. These drawings are known generically as the "wood locating drawing."

To get a wood locating drawing for your particular 130 SUPER SPORT model year, contact Boston Whaler customer service.

If you want to install a cleat in a location where the cleat can be through-bolted on the laminated surface, you can install a backing plate to spread the load onto the back side of the laminate.

If you must install a cleat in a location where there is no embedded reinforcement material or in a location that cannot be through-bolted, then you could try another technique.

To create your own embedded reinforcement area for a screw fastener, you can make a small pilot hole for the screw. The using an L-shaped improvised tool, often made from a small hex-wrench or Allen wrench, you can break down the foam material under the laminate surface, creating a pocket of air space of suitable width and depth. Using suction, all the broken down foam is removed, leaving a clean area.

Image
Fig. 1. Using an improvised tool to create a space below the laminate layer in the foam.

Mix up epoxy resin and high-density filler, and inject the resin-filler mix into the pilot hole, filling the space. DO NOT INJECT epoxy resin ony; the curing of a big blob of epoxy resin will generate too much heat and cause melting of the foam; be sure to use a mixture of resin and filler, making a thick paste.

Image
Fig. 2. The void in the foam is filled with an epoxy-filler mixture.

Once the resin has cured, re-drill the pilot hole. Widen the pilot hole in the area of the laminate so the threading of a self-tapping screw fastener does not create a crack in the laminate. If you do not do this then the laminate WILL crack.

For more advice about creating a stronger fastening of a screw, read a prior discussion at

Repair of Loose Fasteners
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3224

omegain98
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:48 am

Re: 130 SUPER SPORT Adding Cleat

Postby omegain98 » Wed May 11, 2022 5:51 pm

Thank you for the informative directions. I can not tell you how much I appreciate it.