<<<No doubt there will be huge wind loads on the dinghy during astorm, so whatever way is used to attach the dinghy to the deck must bequite strong. My first inclination is to use through bolts with backing platesbut this requires RIPPING off the overhead panels to install the backingplates and bolts. >>> Nick, Through bolting is by far the beat way to secure something as large and heavy as a dinghy on the upper deck. Screwing through the top skin and into the balsa is definately unacceptable; not strong enough and an invitation to water entry into the balsa. Glassing stringers to the deck with epoxy and glass cloth tape is a good method. An easier though less strong method is to drill oversize holes (1/2 inch for 1/4 inch bolts) through the upper skin and balsa, stopping when the drill contacts the bottom skin. Then fill the hole with a thickened epoxy mixture (add cab-o-sil and some glass scraps cut to 1/4" length) until it overflows the hole. When fully cured, drill and screw in sheet metal screws as deep as possible without going through that bottom skin. This method transfers loads to the core as well as the top skin, and keeps the water out. This and other neat tricks are detailed in West System's booklet on boat repairing, cost about $2-3, and worth much more. However, I use much less expensive 2:1 mix epoxy from a local supplier ($23/gal in a 3 gal kit). == Mark Richter, M.E., aboard M/V Winnie the Pooh custom Morgan 46 Trawler. Homeport Stuart, FL Lying Stuart, FL through Feb 15. "Mark's Mobile Marine" electrical & diesel repairs See you at Tfest Melbourne, Thurs April 15, 3-5pm on WTP. _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

At 05:32 PM 1/29/99 -0800, you wrote: > > ><<<No doubt there will be huge wind loads on the dinghy during >astorm, so >whatever way is used to attach the dinghy to the deck must >bequite strong. >My first inclination is to use through bolts with backing >platesbut this >requires RIPPING off the overhead panels to install the >backingplates and >bolts. >>> ==========================================================================Hi Mark, This should work for you and be an easy fix for your problem. Drill a pilot hole through the deck and through your overhead a little larger than the diameter of a good quality wire coat hanger. Bend the coat hanger into the shape of an L, make the up and down portion of your L approximately 2" long. Make the horizontal portion of the L, or foot, approximately 1" long. Attach this to a drill motor and stick the foot of the L through the pilot hole so that when you start drilling the foot of the L will whip around inside the balsa core and chop the balsa into fine pieces and create a hollow. If you are going to be using 1/4" bolts drill a 1/4" hole through the pilot hole and the overhead. Put a wooden plug, be it a pencil or whatever, down below in the hole through the lower portion of your roof, overhead area. Mix up some epoxy paste or MarineTex or JB Weld and inject it through the top in the hole until you fill the cavity. You can do this by poking a wire around periodically to push out any air bubbles. Now what you have created is a 2" diameter, non-compressable epoxy plug. After it sets up drill the hole for your bolt through the roof through the overhead. Inside the boat you will need stainless steel washers with stainless steel cap nuts and unless you are awful fussy, this will not look bad. I've seen this on a number of boats and it does not detract from the interior decor unless you are working with a plush 100 footer. Now you can bolt down your dinghy chocks properly bedded very securely. Hoist your dinghy up, lash it down and go cruising with confidence. I hope I made myself clear, if you need clarification, do not hesitate to contact me. Al P.S. A thought just came to me - if you drill your original pilot hole just through the top skin and then insert your gimmick and whip around the balsa, you won't have to worry about the epoxy dripping through your overhead. After curing, then drill your bolt hole. Captain Al Pilvinis M/V Driftwood--Prairie 47 2630 N.E. 41st Street Lighthouse Point, Fl 33064-8064 Voice 954-941-2556 Fax 954 788-2666 Email - CaptainAl@Juno.com Website http://home.earthlink.net/~yourcaptain

Even easier, just use an appropriately sized Allen wrench to overbore the pilot hole - it's more solid than a coat hanger. Al Pilvinis wrote: > Mark, > This should work for you and be an easy fix for your problem. > Drill a pilot hole through the deck and through your overhead a little > larger than the diameter of a good quality wire coat hanger. Bend the coat > hanger into the shape of an L, make the up and down portion of your L > approximately 2" long. -- Bob McLeran rmcleran@ix.netcom.com M/V "Sanderling" Docked at Point Patience Marina Hailing port: Wianno MA Solomons, MD Hampton 35 Trawler