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I'm in the process of restoring my 17 foot Montauk, 1974 model year and had to remove the CC. I noticed most of the screws holding the console on the wood runners have no bite in to what is under the floor. Can someone point me to articles here regarding what repair techniques have been successful.
I also have antennas mounted on both sides 4 inches forward of the first bow rail stanchion. I want to remove and fill these holes however, they are machine thread screws and appear to have nuts or some type of fastener behind the fiberglass that are spinning. These are the ratchet type mounts for raising the whips. Any ideas here as to how these could be mounted and will not release?
I'm sure I will have many questions along the way and will appreciate any guidance I can find.
The old wooden cleat mounting of the Montauk console was a system that tended to fail with time, usually when the screws holding the cleats to the floor pulled out and the whole console would come loose.
In 1983 Whaler went to a system of aluminum angle bolted to the outsides of the console shell. These angles were screwed to the floor with large diameter #14 sheet metal screws and there were seven of them on each side.
Because the lateral spacing of those screws was increased by several inches, the console was not able to exert as much uplifting force and was MUCH less likely to lever the screws from the floor.
The screws holding your console in place have no bite because they were probably never sealed and water has gotten in over the last several decades and either rotted the plywood backing or, more simply, soaked it and made it soft and movement of the screws have chewed up the wood fibers so they are now a soft mess.
If you did not try to reuse the old screw holes and instead used the newer style mounting with aluminum angle, the new screw holes may be far enough away form the old ones that you will get solid purchase on the floor.
You would, of course, fill the old screw holes in the floor to prevent more water from getting in there.
Never having seen a 1974 Montauk winged console up console up close, I would assume it to be the same as the 1975 Outrage winged console, which has the integral fiberglass flanges for mounting to the floor. No?
Yes Finnegan, Mine is just like that which is why the new aluminum angle mounting method would need to be on the inside.
Nice work on your photo boat. I think mine is factory and has just a tapered strip of teak under the flange that is rotten and there is nothing under the fiberglass floor to bite in to
If your console fiberglass flange is just like mine, then the aluminum angle would not be an easy conversion.
As far as I know, and with mine, the fiberglass flange sits directly on the boat floor and screws down with #14 x 1-1/4 sheet metal screws. That teak strip you are describing sounds like something a previous owner added and should not be under there unless you are rasing the console. (my console is raised 6" on a teak riser and beam system I designed)
I would drill out the holes in the floor 1/2" diameter all the way through the 1/2" plywood backing under the non-skid, pack in White Marine-Tex epoxy flush with the surface, using masking tape around the holes, wiping the surrounding non-skid clean with water, and re-drill for the #14 screws. The Marine-Tex bonds well to both the glass skin and plywood.
If that were my boat, I would definitely raise that console at least 4". The wheel and control location are way too low. But only use my Marine-Tex "plug" idea if you are setting the console directly on the floor.
Thanks Finnegan, good to know the height issue as I have never driven the boat yet and the seat is shot any way so hard to see what height I would like.
More later but internet keeps tossing me because of satellite and weather.
I just got to thinking about what you said Fin and I am pretty sure my 1974 came just as it is with what appears to be a piece of 3/4" teak beveled thinner toward the flange or out side edge. My reasoning is because of the fishing /storage platform option my boat has forward and along side of the CC. On the gunwales and along the outside of the CC they attached strips of teak on top of the drip ledges that this platform screws down to. If I raise my CC I would have to adjust those strips so the platform deck stays level with the interior as it was.
