Minnesota Classic Glastron Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Carlcvx20 on January 24, 2023, 09:45:08 AM
-
Hi everyone. First time posting here, hopefully not my last.
I have a 1978 CVX20 Sprint. The U-bolts (tow eyes) at the stern have come loose. As you likely know, they are not easily accessible because of the way the stern is shaped.
Is there any way to tighten up these u-bolts with relative ease? I would like to think there's a good way to do so that doesn't involve separating the cap from the hull but i'm not seeing it.
Any insight is appreciated.
Cheers.
-
Welcome to the forum Carlcvx20 !
I don't have an answer to your question .. but there's a guy on the CGOA that has a CVX20 Sprint and might know ..
http://www.classicglastron.com/phpbb/index.php
His user name is .. " CharlieN " on CGOA forum.
-
Thanks, i'll look into it.
-
Not certain on a Sprint, but have had to tighten these before on other boats, I used a 3' long extension(3/8") with deep socket. I'm thinking on a Sprint you may have to pull the back seat?
-
I hate to say it but if they are loose, I would believe it is a sign of rot. I would look into the issue further.
-
Mine were loose on a cvx17. I could have technically reached the inside nuts with the correct wrench and body position, but I worked around it for the time being. You can of course tighten the outside bolts down as it sits, but the downside is that you will be making the u bolt reach out slightly longer and put more side to side torque on the hull. What I did instead was took some larger sized aluminum washers, cut a slit in them, and bent them apart so I could put them under the nuts on the outside. Then I bent them back together with the slit facing down and out of sight, and tightened the outside nuts from there. That sort of gave the u bolts a bit more strength and compensated for making them stick out further.
-
Thanks to all for the suggestions and comments.
I had considered removal of the bench seat as a requirement if i'm going to access these bolts from under the rear deck. They became loose after i started using ratchet tie-downs for securing the boat to the trailer. I hope rot is not the reason but we'll see.
Thanks to Plugcheck for suggesting a 3 ft extension and 3/8 deep socket. Knowing the socket size is half the battle.
Cheers everyone.
-
What I meant was 3/8 drive extension, not 3/8 socket. I have an assortment of long extensions for transmission work. If I were to guess, I probably say 9/16 or 5/8" sockets would fit the nuts.
-
45 year old wood in transom .. Unless your very lucky .. is most likely bad in spots.
-
The ones on my intimidator went thru a piece of 3/4 plywood on the inside. The block was approx 3?x4? . You might have to remove some foam back in that area to access them. At least on mine that area was filled with foam.
-
Check that wood out?. If they are loose it?s probably because the wood is going. Good luck.
-
Just assuming the CVX-20 bottom hull half is the same on Timi's, Sprints, and Ski Machines? At least as far as tie down points? Like Jeff stated, those tie down u- bolts go through a separate block of plywood. During my Timi resto, those were the only two pieces of wood that weren't rotted. Its a sinking feeling to find rot in your boat, but as others have stated, you should check it.
-
Thanks again, all. Your advice about the rot is sound.
I bought the boat 5 years ago from the second owner. Everything was original, even the outboard. I have plans to have the floor and transom rebuilt in the next couple of years. But i have to admit, if there are bad spot i haven't found them, so i don't think i'm at a critical point and i check annually.
Cheers.