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Its easy to mount wood to anywhere on the hull and it will hold. What you need to do, is place the wood where you want it and drill the required holes through the wood and the deck. Then enlarge the hole in the deck to about 1/4". Next take an allen wrench and chuck the long end into the drill, and the short end into the drilled hole, and ream out the foam under the hole. Then inject epoxy into the hole from a small squeeze bottle. that`s it. drill into the new epoxy, when set, and your screw will hold well.
We had a discussion here about using Gorilla glue instead of epoxy, as it is some form of epoxy, that reacts to water to cure, and it really expands when curing, ensuring complete filling of the void obtained with the allen wrench. It also can be drilled and holds screws well, but first you must inject a small amount of water into the hole, that is unless your foam is water saturated. I think next time I might try using Gorilla Glue(for mounting wood to fiberglass, which is the glue I used building the console. The pieces must be immediately screwed together, as the glue expands in a couple of minutes, The excess can be sanded off later. If using Gorilla glue to fill the void you need to apply tape over the hole and a weight or your finger to keep the glue from expanding out of the hole. and don`t use much glue, you don`t want is mushrooming out of the hole. With epoxy you don`t have to worry about this. but you need to get 2-part epoxy (slow set) that is runny and not thick. Its available from Home Depot.

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Binkie,
Interesting post. I just mounted my trolling motor base to the fore deck of my '07 Montauk 150. Had I read your post I might have done it differently, not to say that I couldn't remove it and do it now. It seems that if one does things as you describe you had better be sure you want it there forever :)) I am not sure about that for my TM. I did not use wood for the base of mine but used HDPE instead..the principle is the same.

I consulted Outboard Motor Shop in Oakland, Ca. They are THE Whaler dealer in No. Ca. and have a well respected service dept. They said to simply drill and tap mounting holes into the fore deck and bolt it down with stainless machine bolts. The phenolic in that area is 3/8. I did just that and used a high grade acrylic caulk as a bedding compound and sealant for the bolt holes on the threads. I've also seen pics of other members' personal pages that seem to show the same.

If I ever want to remove it I can simply do so and plug the holes with 3M 5200.

Now, having described my process, do you think it will be satisfactory? You obviously know your stuff given the pics of your resto' on your personal page.

Thanks,
Mark

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I`m not familiar with that Whaler, but obviously you have access to the underneath, so a bolt would be preferable to a screw any day. If you want it there forever use 5200, If you may want to remove it someday use 4200

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Thanks Binkie,

No, I don't have access to the underneath...that's why I couldn't bolt it. I will, however get some 4200 and use it instead to the acrylic there now.

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When I mounted my trolling motor at the bow I did As Binkie suggested using epoxy and pre drilled for lag bolts . Worked so well that when I didn't lock motor up, at full throttle the motor dropped I thought in that split second everything would be gone but it stayed and bent that stainless shaft like nothing . When I removed the motor I filled the holes with tinted epoxy and you can hardly notice it . Ive used that technique several times since .

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While Gorilla glue will expand to fill a void, it is not a structural gap filling glue. The expanded foam does not have much strength. Gorilla's website states that the surfaces to be glued must fit tightly, and they do not claim any gap filling properties. I have read numerous reviews in woodworking magazines, and they are pretty much in agreement on this point. They now make a Gorilla Epoxy (two-part) that they do claim is a structural gap filling glue. However it is a 5 minute setting epoxy, and I'm thinking it won't have as much strength as a slow-set epoxy. I'd stick with the slow-set epoxy method described above, which should work well.

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They make special plugs for mounting foot straps to windsurfers. They are about 1-1/4 in diameter, and about the same length. You drill the hole, and epoxy them into the foam. Then screw stainless steel screws into them. I never managed to pull one out, but I never tried them on a Whaler.

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I don`t think I would want to drill a 1 1/4" hole in my deck and then plug it to install a screw. If you happen to have moisture in the foam It will rot the plug out in time.

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The plugs are plastic, but I agree- it's kinda scary putting a hole that big in a boat or a surfboard!

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Gorilla Glue is a polyurethane product I believe. Wonderfully useful stuff but I have my doubts about it holding screws under load. I do however like the epoxy idea and have used it in the past with superb results.

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Gorilla Glue is a polyurethane product I believe. Wonderfully useful stuff but I have my doubts about it holding screws under load.

Think I will do an informal test.
I will drill a 5/8" hole in the edge of a 2x12 plank. about 2 inches deep. I`ll fill the hole with Gorilla glue, let it set, sand it smooth, and drill a hole for a #10 2" screw. Do the same thing in the wood next to the drill hole. Then screw a 2" #10 stainless screw into the holes leaving about 1/4" exposed/ Then I will try to pull each screw with a flat bar. If I don`t succeed, I'll try a 20' prybar which I'm sure will pull both screws, but if not I have a 3 ft. crow bar. I`ll see if the screw in the Gorilla glue is easier to pull. Just to make it more fair, I' drill a 3rd hole and fill it with 2 part slow set epoxy.

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Cant beat such a practical test, better than guessing. Let us know how it goes.