CONTINUOUSWAVE

[On my] 2018 240 Dauntless [the center console is loose]. Recently, I was cruising in some light chop, and I noticed the entire center console was lifting off the deck about a half-inch. Surely not, I thought.

I found there were six three-inch screw fasteners, three on each side of the center console, were snapped in half.

I cannot fathom how Boston Whaler would use six stainless steel screw fasteners to secure a center console and a T-Top to the boat's deck. Those components weigh hundreds of pounds. But that seems exactly how the 2018 240 DAUNTLESS is designed. And I have no idea of how all six screw fasteners snapped.

When I drilled a new hole adjacent to an existing hole, the tip of my drill got really hot. The original screw fasteners to from inside the console perpendicular to the deck of the boat. I have no idea what I might have been drilling into. I do know the best path forward.

I am fearful that if I trailer the boat at 60-MPH on Interstate Highway 95 to the Florida Keys, the center console will fold back onto the deck like a hat blown off your head.

I want to make a proper repair--fix it right. So far my local Boston Whaler dealers (plural) do not have much to say.

Your narrative is very surprising. Your 2018 boat is still covered by a ten-year hull warranty. You need to contact Boston Whaler customer service, and explain the problem to them, and also explain what appears to be no offer of help from the local Boston Whaler dealers. I don't think you should proceed further without getting advice from the factory about this hull failure.

Clear up a few details:

Q1: are the screw fasteners holding the center console in place machine screws or self-tapping screws?

Q2: what is the diameter of the screw fasteners, and if machine screws, what is the thread pitch?

Q3: what was the diameter of the drill that you were using when you tried drilling a new hole?

Q4: at what depth below the cockpit deck top level did you encounter the material that caused the drill to become hot?

Regarding your drill bit tip becoming "hot" while attempting to drill a new hole adjacent to an existing fastener hole, the drill must have been encountering embedded reinforcement material below the cockpit deck. Typically when a large structure like a T-Top is involved, the reinforcement material could be aluminum plate, perhaps at least 0.25-inch thick. Also, drilling aluminum plate is not particularly difficult with a sharp drill, so your report of the drip tip becoming hot suggests perhaps the drill was not particularly sharp.

Because the original screw fasteners are reported to be "snapped", your best approach is to attempt to move the console to one side and extract the lower portion of the screw fasteners that remain attached to the deck. If the fasteners broke below the deck level, that will be a difficult project.

As for the failure of all six stainless steel screw fasteners, what comes to mind as a possible cause is the overhead T-Top may have come into contact with an obstruction, imparting a significant shearing force on the fasteners.

Q5: is your boat moved by anyone other than you went on the water or on a trailer or on a lift-truck at a marina?

Q6: is there any possibility of such an impact between the T-Top and an overhead structure having occurred?

Great insight. I appreciate your reply. I have reached out to Boston Whaler corporate and they’re pushing me back to my local dealer. I’m going to give that another shot.

I did buy the 2018 240 DAUNTLESS as a used boat, but it was in great shape. I see no indications of it being slammed into a bridge or something similar. I’ve had it three years now and [the loose console] is just now become a problem.

I guess theoretically [the possibility of the T-Top hitting an overhead obstruction] could have happened previously and broken several screws and then over time the last remaining screw or two that weren’t broken eventually had too much stress from my use while owning the 2018 240 DAUNTLESS. I baby the boat so it’s just hard to fathom.

For six out of six stainless steel screws to "snap" seems very odd.

There are only a few possible situations I can see in which this could happen.

• the screws were of poor quality steel, had low corrosion resistance and low tensile strength;
• the screws were over-tightened during initial installation;
• some massive upward force was exerted on the T-Top and console, creating tension in the screws that exceeded their tensile strength;
• some massive shearing force was created by the impact of the T-Top with an overhead obstruction; or,
• some combination of all of the above over time.

The problem with some of those situations is the console base is made of laminated fiberglass, and I would expect the yield strength of fiberglass to be far below than the material strength of a stainless steel screw. The console would yield before the screw was sheared off or to broke under tension.

In your narrative you indicate the stainless steel screws "snapped in half."

Q7: do you have the upper portion of any of the six screws?

Q8: if you have the upper portion of more than one screw, is the fracture line in all screws in the same location?

Q9: if you have any of the upper portions of the "snapped" screws, what is the length from the screw head to the fracture, and how does that correspond to the position of the fracture relative to the upper level of the deck, that is, did the screws "snap in half" above the deck level or below the deck level?

Re Q9, that is an important factor to know. If the screws snapped off below the deck level, the screws may have fractured in the embedded reinforcement material. If the embedded reinforcement material is aluminum, there could have been corrosion or galling of the stainless steel. A stainless steel screw fastener that has become galling in a dissimilar metal can be very resistant to being turned. For stainless steel screws that thread into aluminum to gall is a well-know problem. The stainless steel screw will become very firmly stuck in place.

This suggests that perhaps a prior owner might have wanted to remove the screws or perhaps tighten the screwns, and he applied excessive torque in trying to loosen or tighten them and broke the screw fasteners. But for some one to repeat that six times seems like a very idiotic method.

For some useful information about stainless steel threaded fasteners and galling, read at

https://www.pemnet.com/wp-content/uploa ... alling.pdf