How to anchor fly bridge seat

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NWpilot

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2020
Messages
68
Vessel Name
Maiden Heaven
Vessel Make
84 Bayliner 3870
I have a 1984 Bayliner 3870 and I'm replacing the fly bridge seat. When removing the old one, held down by nuts on the base, three of the six bolts embedded in the deck started turning. I don't want to tear into the deck so I thought why not just cut the bolts off, build a wooden platform out of mahogany and anchor the seat base to it. I plan to anchor the wooden platform to the fiberglas deck with fiberglas epoxy rather than trying to screw anything into the deck.
Does anyone here think this approach is worthwhile or am I crazy for trying this.
Thanks in advance for your opinions.
 
Depending on how much twisting & force it is subject to, just use what is called "pine trees" . Plastic round things with hairs sticking off. Resist pulling out. Pic of you need one.
 
Not sure what the access is like, but I might use a dremel to slot the bolts so a screwdriver can hold them while removing the nuts. Then, squirt some epoxy down the bolts to re-secure them.
 
Pine tree
 

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I have a 1984 Bayliner 3870 and I'm replacing the fly bridge seat. When removing the old one, held down by nuts on the base, three of the six bolts embedded in the deck started turning. I don't want to tear into the deck so I thought why not just cut the bolts off, build a wooden platform out of mahogany and anchor the seat base to it. I plan to anchor the wooden platform to the fiberglas deck with fiberglas epoxy rather than trying to screw anything into the deck.
Does anyone here think this approach is worthwhile or am I crazy for trying this.
Thanks in advance for your opinions.
When I rebuilt my flybridge deck last year, I had a new rule: *nothing* would ever be screwed to the deck. This was because the original deck had rotted through in numerous places due to water intrusion through screw holes, access holes, etc. I wanted the new flybridge deck to be 100% water tight with the exception of the upper wheel chain tunnel which has a watertight surround (and is inside the flybridge brow)
I used bonding for everything else. The deck-rails are screwed to a wood base that is bonded, not screwed to the deck. Ditto for the brow hold-down nut and flange assemblies. For something like the handrail that is adjacent to the ladder, I did *exactly* as you are thinking. I got a piece of teak wood 12" x18" and varnished it nicely, screwed the stainless handrail to it and then bonded it to the deck. I used PL premium adhesive and it works like a charm. and best of all, the new upper deck is 100% water tight with 0 chance of rot.
If you need to debond anything, just use an oscillating saw with a smooth, flat blade. It will cut the adhesive without tearing up the deck.
 
The responses got me to thinking a little more about using epoxy. It's supposed to be 101 degrees tomorrow, not good epoxy weather. I'm building a 15" x 21" base from Sapele Mahogany so I'll have over 300 sq.in. of surface to bond to. I think I'm going to go with a mastic instead.
As to the existing bolts, I'm going to cut them flush with the deck and seal them with Sikaflex 291. (I did get the existing seat off)
New chair
PXL_20240831_181205876.jpg
 
I may be late to this project, but thought I would add my 2c. When I remodeled my flybridge we added two captain chairs. The deck of the flybridge is 1" honeycomb with about 1/8" of glass on both sides. I ended up making 3/8" G-10 plates a bit larger than the base of the seat and using SS inserts on the backside of the G-10. These inserts were imbedded in epoxy pockets I cut into the honeycomb to stitch the top and bottom layers together locally. The G-10 plates were bonded to deck with thickened epoxy. Then I simply screwed the bases through the G-10 to the SS inserts. The G-10 spreads the load across the floor and the force to pull a single insert through the 3/8" G-10 would be in the thousands of pounds. Ended up being very solid and after coating the disks with gelcoat it looks original.
 
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