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I am trying to determine how long the screws should be to secure the console and pilot seat to the hull. Does anybody have any know? I assume stainless steel, pre-drilled with some 5200 on the bottom of the cleats. Maybe 3"? I don't see the screw info in the plans. Any hep is appreciated.

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Use screws that penetrate the deck 3/4" to 1"

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Thanks Tom. Wow....the wood must be just below the floor. I will go with 2 1/2".

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I assume you are talking about fastening the console and seat CLEATS to the boat floor.

Whaler says to only drill the glass the diameter of the screw thread, so that the screw threads will not chip out the surrounding glass. Do not drill into the wood backing, as the self tapping screw will thread into the wood. I recommend pre-installing each cleat, with each screw fully seated, than remove cleat, insert clear Life Caulk/Seal flush into each hole, and re-install cleat. This will seal the holes against water infiltration. I recommend 1" of screw thread from bottom of cleat.

So as to not cut the varnish skin on the cleat (doing so will quickly result in a black ring under the varnish around the screw head, Use either a pan head screw with flat washer, or an oval head screw with trim ring and washer underneath

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Hi Finnegan,

Yes, that is correct. TGood tips and I will follow them.

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I found that when drilling into any of the gel coat deck/gunwale surfaces I got far less cracking/chipping if I used the roto-drill setting on my cordless drill. I used a masonry bit and the surface around the hole was cleaner than when using a regular drill bit.
gchuba