Thread: installing new base plates on boat floor?

has anyone ever installed base plates in the floor of their boat. I have a lakesport duck boat and was wanting to install 2 new ones on either side of the existing one on the casting platform. It doesnt look that hard but i was hoping for advice before i go drilling holes in the floor of my new boat

I just did that yesterday on my G3 boat. The front deck on mine underneath the carpet is 3/4 inch treated plywood so it made it somewhat easier. I had to cut a small piece of carpet out and then cut a 2 and 3/4 diameter hole for the center of the base to fit down in...The put in six big screws. If the deck on your boat has a aluminum floor you will have to take a hole saw to cut the 2 and 3/4 hole then if you can get underneath it somehow and use bolts and nuts and washers to fasten your base down. If you cannot get to the underneath side I guess you could drill 6 holes big enough to get toggle bolts or moly's through there that will fold out against the metal and give you support.

Click here and scroll down the page. There are some pics of Wannabe putting bases on his aluminum deck. His boat had all the floatation under that deck so he used sheet metal screws and some kind of epoxy. He had to dig a little of that foam out for the base to fit down in. http://www.crappie.com/crappie/missi...g-090-a-3.html

thanks so much and i do have aluminum floor without a way to get under there...

I used stainless screws. #6 from memory 3/4 inch and pot 3m 5200 on the threads for adhesion and to fight vibration. In a year with 130 hour on my o/b I haven't even had to tighten them.

Wannabe...

I still cant decide if I want to try it on my G3 or just keep useing the Tite Lock double seat I have.

You can use screws. Just use big stainless ones. Do something like WB said.

I'm in the same boat (pardon the pun). I'm in the middle of re-carpeting, and would like to add a plate on top of both pods on the back so I can move my fishing seats back there and sit in them while under way. But the aluminum is really thin and I don't have access underneath. Anybody tried the mollies? Where they the gull-wing metal ones? They work ok?

I ran into the same problem on my last boat. I added the two small hatches so that I could reach under the deck. It worked out great. The hatches are made by Tempress.