[Shabah203]

Hi All,

In preperation for the new season I found that the Engine room cover/ Sundeck was coming loose. It had some freeplay it didn't have before. So I looked and found that the hinges were coming loose.

When I tried to unscrew them, the screws turned out to be eaten completely bu rust. (see photos)


So I found a local workshop and had a metal (inox) strip fitted with the hinges attached to it so I could re-use the old holes in the boat. Ofcourse they made sure that the hinges ended in the same place as before...

Just picked it up this morning, and it started raining! Expected for tomorrow as well, so I'll have to wait until sundy if it fits, but I thought I'd share the photos with you in case someone else has the same problem...

[gahooligan]

Looks like a great repair!!

[99 Mariah 258]

Mariah used stainless hardware except for t-nuts on the hatch hinges and seat hinges...

[pllevine]

How does your cover stay locked down in place? Is it held down solely with the gas struts?

[99 Mariah 258]

Originally Posted by pllevine

How does your cover stay locked down in place? Is it held down solely with the gas struts?

If yours doesn't have the lift actuator like mine it's held down by the weight of it and the struts.....I'm waiting to snipe a cheap marine actuator on eBay. All the ones I've seen are really expensive.

[Shabah203]

Yeah, the weight holds it down, the actuators help to open and keep it open.

[pllevine]

Thanks for the responses. I am pretty sure that mine did not come with lid actuators. I am pretty sure that my gas struts are shot. Whie towing, the lid flipped up and I lost the foam under the vinyl. Incidentally, the lid is just vinyl côvered plywood?

[sommerflying]

Over the 4th of July the same thing happend to mine. Is the consensus fix to do this or open up the uplostery underneath and try and replace the rusted T-nuts? Also, is it just 3/4 marine plywood under the sundeck for decking? Thanks all. Right now I think I'm going to copy the repair shown.

[99 Mariah 258]

Originally Posted by sommerflying

Over the 4th of July the same thing happend to mine. Is the consensus fix to do this or open up the uplostery underneath and try and replace the rusted T-nuts? Also, is it just 3/4 marine plywood under the sundeck for decking? Thanks all. Right now I think I'm going to copy the repair shown.

I think the repair shown is the best quick fix... It's 3/4 plywood but I don't think it's even marine grade. I'm almost done with my upholstery and I thought it would be a simple job since I have a Upholstery shop. ( custom made furniture for homes) .. So I opened the can of worms and turned out all the wood was rotted along with a lot of the hardware so I'm making everything new. Everything is expensive but I'm using only top quality materials and I reinforced a lot more than it came from the factory. I'll post pics soon

[sommerflying]

Thanks all for the idea. Here is how my temporary fix turned out. I cut out some of the bottom cover to check the wood condition and it wasn't terrible, so I went for the easy fix: