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Is there a way to install a console in a Boston Whaler Montauk 17ft edition without drilling holes into the console floor. I was thinking of covering marine plywood with epoxy and installing it into the console floor. Any ideas. Need some help. Thanks
There is embedded wood under the deck for the L bracket to attach to.
Just add a dab of marine caulk (not adhesive like 4200/5200) to the threads and under the head of the screws.
Excellent question and one I have toiled over for a while now.
There is wood under the deck where the console mounts. Boats like my '74 had the winged console and the mounting flange-to-floor method was 6 #14 screws 1 1/2 inches long with finishing washers on each side.
Water got in and the wood under the deck is mush around where the old screws were. As Tom Clark said, find other places to drill and screw a plate where the wood is still good and solid.
In the other thread where Finnegan shows his idea of raising the console, GREAT IDEA! The console is a little low to begin with given the height of the RPS which is also pretty low.
I would take it one step further and increase the width of the riser plate to around 6 inches and increase the screws on each side to 12 instead of 6. Six screws to hold the console to the plate and deck and another 6 under the console to hold the plate to the floor. Make sure your screws go at least 1 inch into the decking after going through the riser thickness and be sure to seal every screw so water can't get in and rot the wood. The space under your console is wasted any way so by spreading the load over a wider span and by staggering the sealed screws it should out last you.
I suspect Marine plywood might be OK for making the riser but I must admit after almost 40 years of direct WET contact the teak wood BW used between my console flange and the deck, it is still perfectly usable and showing no signs of rot.
If you have a new style CC with the aluminum bracket I would still raise it 2 - 3 inches and use a 6 inch wide plate. We tend to lean heavily on the console and steering wheel in rough seas and it takes a hammering. Doubeling the screws and spreading the load grip can't hurt. If you go as you plan with a full plywood piece under the entire console it will just be a great place for wet to accumulate and get trapped between the deck and wood. Teak is the wood of choice in this environment for the past few thousand years.
