Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by mct on 05/26/15 - 8:24 AM

I have a 1987 18' Outrage and a number of the screws holding the bow railing in place have worn loose and it is time to do something about them. If I remove the original screw and use a self tapping screw of the same size, the different threads on the self tapping screw will screw down tight. My concern is that it won't take long for these to come loose as well and wanted to reinforce them. I thought of doing 1 of 2 things. (1) add a little 5200 to the self tapping screw or (2) use some Marine Tex and use the self tapping screw.

Any thoughts on one over the other (or neither) would be appreciated.

Posted by WE Whaler on 05/26/15 - 8:28 AM

mct wrote:
I have a 1987 18' Outrage and a number of the screws holding the bow railing in place have worn loose and it is time to do something about them. If I remove the original screw and use a self tapping screw of the same size, the different threads on the self tapping screw will screw down tight. My concern is that it won't take long for these to come loose as well and wanted to reinforce them. I thought of doing 1 of 2 things. (1) add a little 5200 to the self tapping screw or (2) use some Marine Tex and use the self tapping screw.

Any thoughts on one over the other (or neither) would be appreciated.

Posted by Reel Easy on 05/26/15 - 8:28 AM

There is a great piece on this site with instructions on replacing the strews with SS rivets. It is very helpful and a great solution to the problem.

Posted by mct on 05/26/15 - 8:46 AM

I have considered the rivet option; however, for me, that falls under the winter project category. Right now there are 3 or 4 screws that are loose and am hoping to buy a little more time before replacing screws that are still working. In addition, I have waited until summer to decide to do something about this and I am looking at the time/cost/benefit of the different options. There are 2 screws on the port side that are loose but cause that side of the railing to really vibrate. The majority of the others seem to be holding tight.

Posted by action on 05/26/15 - 9:30 AM

I have a few stripped screws and just ordered 100 rivets. After I get them I can probably part with some smaller quantities. Ill let you know how it works out.

Posted by aeriksen on 05/26/15 - 10:34 AM

I have a 1984 Outrage and was haveing the same problem. I found replacement bow rail fittings made by Salty Dog that are tightened using double set screws. I have had then installed for three years and not a rattle as of yet. They also look better.

Posted by Gmondun on 05/26/15 - 10:34 AM

Are you referring to the screws that mound the railing brackets to the boat deck or the screws that keep the railing in place on the upper brackets?

Posted by Finnegan on 05/26/15 - 12:46 PM

#10

As mentioned, replacing the rail rittings with the newer style SS fittings, which have the allen set screw detail, works well. They hold like iron and will never rattle. The rails can be rotated as necessary for a strong compression fit by the set screws.

Posted by mct on 05/26/15 - 4:48 PM

#11

If using the rivet option, where are people order the rivets from and what exact product are people using. I reviewed the article on this topic, but am having some difficulty locating the rivets mentioned in the article.

Posted by action on 05/26/15 - 5:12 PM

#12

I just searched for "SSB6-6S KLIK-FAST RIVETS 3/16 " on Amazon.com and found them. I got the part number from a photo in one of the original posts.

Posted by JRP on 05/27/15 - 4:33 AM

#13

aeriksen wrote:
I have a 1984 Outrage and was haveing the same problem. I found replacement bow rail fittings made by Salty Dog that are tightened using double set screws. I have had then installed for three years and not a rattle as of yet. They also look better.

Are you possibly referring to Sea-Dog, rather than "Salty-Dog"?

http://www.sea-dog.com/categories/rai...ngs?page=3

Posted by spuds on 05/27/15 - 8:12 AM

#15

I fixed my rattling bow railon my 18 Outrage by going to a welded bow rail.

Also improved the looks 110%.