Hello All, For anyone who is interested in the bench hinges previously pictured in this thread, there were three offset hinges on the bench seat of my Mariah Talari PC 240, and the aluminum hinges corroded.After searching unsuccessfully for original replacements, and looking at what others have done4 on this website, my solution came to the following successful conclusion:
I replaced the three broken hinges with six offset hinges, welded in pairs, purchased from Veada Manufacturing. Look on their website for offset hinge model HA201H5. The website is
Boat Hinges and Pedestals
The hinges from Veada are only 5" long, and the original hinge is about 9" long, but the Veada hinges are more sturdy, and they will work. Also the "ell" on the Veada hinge is .25" longer than the "ell" on the original hinge, but this is not a critical difference, especially if you replace all three original hinges (recommended..) Anyway, bring the six pairs to a welding shop, it will cost about $20 to have the three pairs welded. It's quick and easy. Make sure the weld is done so that the two "bumps" on the new hinge match the orientation of the original hinge. Take the original hinge off and match them up!
When you are removing the original hinge, you may also come into the problem with the T-bolt that it screws into is corroded! Unfortunately the T-bolts are not stainless. If the T-bolt is corroded, you must remove the vinyl covering the opposite side of the hinge, so you can replace the T-bolt.
The other option, beside replacing the T-bolt, is to Drill out the existing hole with a 3/8 or larger drill bit, and used a stainless steel "threaded insert" (hardware dept in West Marine, not avail at most hardware stores..). Screw the insert in, and then you can attach the hinge to the insert with a stainless bolt and washer. Be careful, when drilling out the corroded T-bolt, that you do not puncture the vinyl on the other side. You may want to stick something in behind the vinyl, if you can, to push it away from the drill bit's sharp tip!
OK, so you have the welded hinges, and the T-bolts are either in good condition, or replaced by stainless inserts, so now you can attach the hinge. The new hinges are only 5" long with 4 screws, instead of the original 9" long with 6 screws, so you will have six unused screw holes on the bottom of your seat.. don't worry!
The final complication which you will run into is the separation betwoon screws on the seat is about 3/8" different than the separartion between holes on the hinges. Therefore, mark the spots by lining up the new hinge over the screw holes, and drill a hole to widen the gap on the hinge, where neccessary. The hinge is aluminum, very soft to drill thru, so it's not a big deal. Then attach the hinges over the srew holes using the proper size bolt, and a washer.
Tedious work, but nice results. I hope I saved someone some trouble.
I have pictures of the new and old hinge, but don't know how to download them, but the old hinge is the same as that on a previous post in this thread, and the Veada website has a picture of the piece used for the new hinge.. good luck!
bench hinges
