Typhoon Screws for Teak Strips at the edge of cockpit seats

[Jim1945]

Are the screws holding the teak strips (not the coming boards) at the corner of the seats self tapping screws? My boat is all covered up right now but if the screws are self tapping I can easily remove them. If they are small bolts with nuts I will wait until I take the cover off.

Thanks for the help.

[Markst95]

I believe they are screws, not bolts.

[Jim1945]

I believe they are screws, not bolts.

Thanks, Mark. I thought as much but didn't want to make trip to the boat for naught. I want to get those off and home for refinish rather then wait until warmer spring weather and the cover comes off.

[Markst95]

If your not going to use cushions in the cockpit its much more comfortable to take the trim pieces off and leave them off. They stick up and dig into your legs

[Jim1945]

If your not going to use cushions in the cockpit its much more comfortable to take the trim pieces off and leave them off. They stick up and dig into your legs

I can see that. I have the full length cushions and will be using them as it's nice to have the extra height in the seats and get a slight bit more leg room. In fact I'm thinking of getting a couple of these throwable square cushions you can get at West Marine($19) or at Bass Pro Shop ($12) and get even a little more height and still have some coming left to support your back. Those square cushions are approximately 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick. It may be that I don't use the full length cushions with the thick throwables. This will be my first season sailing the Ty but I can see the cockpit is just a little tight. I'm 6' 0" with longer legs. But I sail 99% of the time single handed so cockpit room shouldn't be a problem.

[svreleaseme]

They are screws but they may not bight when you put them back in. Having them be a little long so that you can have them bite into a small block of wood behind the fiberglass may be necessary for some. Sort of like a backing plate. Depending on your boat the blocks may be in place already.
Randy

[Steve Laume]

They are screws but they may not bight when you put them back in. Having them be a little long so that you can have them bite into a small block of wood behind the fiberglass may be necessary for some. Sort of like a backing plate. Depending on your boat the blocks may be in place already.
Randy

Or just a dab a little bit of epoxy in the screw holes and let it dry. Then you should be able to refasten the cleats with the original screws. This works for any fastener hole that is enlarged from use, Steve.

[Jim1945]

Or, I could use just slightly larger screws as in the next millimeter up in size.

[Steve Laume]

It's a slimy ramp when you start to go to larger screws. Bigger holes with larger counter sinks in all the wood and some of the screws might still need some help. Then you have to buy all new fasteners...

The nice thing about the TYs is that you can take to woodwork home to do all the finishing. You have a great boat, Steve.

[Jim1945]

Another issue will be if the fiberglass is cored behind the teak strip. I'll know tomorrow but I would doubt it(hope it's not). With the hole being close to the corner if there is any coring in the foot well side I would think it would end short of the corner.

[Jim1945]

Pulled the teak today. They are self tapping screws and the appear to go into cored fiberglass. Coring seems to run right up to the edge of the seat. So, I will have to oversize the holes, fill with epoxy and then maybe through bolt them. Another option is to oversize the hole and fill with epoxy and then drill a smaller hole in the epoxy and epoxy in a wood plug (like a piece of dowel rod) and then sink the self tapping screw in the plug. The plug would be sealed off from the core by the epoxy so if it got wet the water wouldn't get to the core. The screws within the range of the cockpit lockers had a little piece of metal inside acting as kind of a nut. You could feel the ends of those screws under the front lip of the locker opening.

[Skeep]

Jim, I found those strips to be a somewhat decorative item, yet once seat cushions are applied, their function to provide a bit of a border became quickly apparent. I initially removed mine for applying varnish last year but owing to their attachment with screws was cautious to not get overly aggressive upon re-putting them. Also, where there might have been a bit of metal for leg scratching, I simply filed a screw or two to negate it.

[Jim1945]

Jim, I found those strips to be a somewhat decorative item, yet once seat cushions are applied, their function to provide a bit of a border became quickly apparent. I initially removed mine for applying varnish last year but owing to their attachment with screws was cautious to not get overly aggressive upon re-putting them. Also, where there might have been a bit of metal for leg scratching, I simply filed a screw or two to negate it.

That's right, they hold the cushions in place. And you can over-tighten them and strip the balsa core. I'm going to drill and oversize the hole, epoxy and then epoxy in a would plug. I'll then tap into the plug. The screws on my boat are not counter sunk. I might do that as the teak is pretty thick.