Trojan Boat Forum

Hey guys (and ladies)

I haven't been here in a long time; I stay too busy with my new job to spend enough time on my boat. Anyway, as the Miss river and temps rise, I'm working on projects in Memphis. I bought a Lewmar Sport Fish Windlass (1000) 2 years ago when I bought the boat and was too busy fighting other problems to install it. So, I started recently and had lots of side problems that one would expect. I'm going to post some other "junk" rambling below, but the nuts and bolts of this post is, I can't line up the old Stainless Steel (SS) 3" hex bolts with the Marine Grade (MG) plywood that reinforces the Bow Pulpit (BP). So, I'm thinking about speed drilling a 1/4" hole through the plywood in the chain locker, through the fiberglass hull and into the Bow Pulpit. My big concern is that I can't remove the BP to inspect, so I don't want to cause a gel coat crack that I won't know about for years, until it spreads across the bow. I'd like some advice.

Now, for the details, the 3 1/2" hole through the BP, fiberglass deck and into the chain locker was never really adequately covered. Water entered over the 20 years (this is a 90 32' Flybridge named Invictus formerly Proud Mary from Baypoint Marina in Norfolk, VA). The water caused some softening of the deck immediately around the hole that the rode passed through, but nothing soft. The marine grade plywood, however was completely rotted and some areas were sagging when I started.

I was able to line up the three 5" Bronze bolts that run all the way through the BP into the chain locker with my new 3/4" MG plywood. However, when I removed the old plywood, 2 of the 4 3" hex bolts that held the plywood to the BP "wrung off" and I have no head. I can't seem to line up the 4 holes with the new plywood. So, what I'm thinking is that I'll just seal those 4 holes up (wrung off bolt and all) with 5200 and drive 4 new 1/4" holes up to the BP, then thread new 3" x 3/8" Lag screws through the fiberglass deck into the BP.

Now, I've drilled a few holes into fiberglass and it always scares me. This one really bothers me, because the fiberglass will be completely sandwiched and I won't know if it chips or cracks. A crack could be hidden by the BP that I can't remove and propagate as soon as I hit rough water.

Looking for any advice.

I know for a fact that I almost lost my girlfriend late fall by trying to drop the anchor in a bad spot of the Mississippi off Arkansas when she wouldn't release the rode and I was caught in the current. So, I want the windlass. Besides, the damn thing cost enough money to get out of my dock box and onto my vessel.

Thank you very much for reading and responding.

One note, It may be that what I'm referring to as the bow pulpit may be more practically considered an anchor tray, but I like BP better. It is a 4' chunk of 2" laminated teak.

I am not sure exactly what your configuration is since my F32 did not have a pulpit on it when I bought it. There was no plywood in the bow area. I did have rotten core around the deck mounted anchor chocks and the deck pipe. Trojan had not sealed the core properly and water penetrated the core. I had the core replaced and the deck refinished. When I installed the bow pulpit, I made every effort to ensure the core would not be damaged again. I overdrilled the top or deck fiberglass and the used an allen wrench mounted in a drill to reef out the core around each hole. Then took thickened epoxy and filled each hole up to the top of the fiberglass deck. After the epoxy went off, I then drilled the proper size holes all the way through the deck into the rope locker. Then I through bolted, not lagged, the bow pulpit and the windlass with aluminum backing plates on the underside of the deck. I would not use lag bolts to hold the windlass on, but instead use through bolts. If you have core damage, now would be the time to repair it before you install the windlass and before it gets any worse. And it will get worse if you don't get the damaged core out and do an effective seal on the holes. Can you put some photos on the post so we can see exactly what you are working with?

NO Lag Bolts . The advice above is good . If your looking for a easier way you could drill out the holes for windlass bolts/studs slightly over size .use the template if you have it (you can use the gasket as one ) then coat the holes with epoxy ( do it several times) same for the hole for the line . Make sure that hole is sealed real well as it is exposed to water from rain waves an wet line . Use thickened epoxy if needed ( west 6-ten works well ) Also seal the bolt/studs with sealant .

I am replacing my "Good" windlass with the same one you are so I can use chain

Thanks for the input.

I haven't been to the boat and don't have any great pictures. There are 3 through hole bolts (5"x3/8) that hold the bow pulpit to the backing plywood. There are 2 more through bolts about 18" forward of those three that are still in place. I'm guessing they are thinner, because they don't go through the 3/4" marine grade plywood. I haven't messed with those. The 4 bolts I was going to replace with lag bolts are on the underside of the bow pulpit and only accessible or viewable inside the chain locker. The 2 I removed cleanly were 3" x 3/8" and the nut is apparently still embedded in the bow pulpit underside.

I haven't completely removed the bow pulpit. It is still held down by the 2 forward through bolts and somewhat by the life rail.

Of course, I plan to drill 3 additional through holes for the windlass.

The 4 bolts I was considering lagging are only there to keep the backing marine grade plywood in place, I guess.

I've been reviewing videos on core replacement and it seems like that is a huge task. No, I don't want it to get worse, but I don't want this to take the whole boating season either.

I have no one to call. There is apparently one guy that does marine work in my marina. I've practically begged the guy to go over my engines and contacted him multiple times. Yesterday, the guy sends me a text asking if one of his customers can buy half my sheet of marine grade plywood. it is always the case that it is hard to find competent boat help; in Memphis it is impossible!

Maybe I can take some pictures this weekend.

Appreciate any thoughts.

JC