T&T: Backing material

[Steve Sipe]

Faure, Marin wrote:
> <I am not sure I would 5200. Unless of course you don't want to ever
> take this apart. The entire process of bedding components to the deck is
> fraught with potential problems.
>
> We didn't use the 5200 to bed the cleats to the deck.  We used 5200 to
> bed and adhere the stainless steel backing plates to the underside of
> the deck in the lazarette.  If the cleats need to be removed sometime in
> the future it will be easy to do so--- it's just a matter of unscrewing
> the nuts on the ends of the cleat bolts and pulling the bolts out.  The
> cleats are bedded to the teak deck with black LifeCaulk.  I can't think
> of any reason why the steel backing plates would ever have to be removed
> from the underside of the deck.
>   
To expand on the backing plate application, why not use 3/16" backing 
then drill & tap it, adhere it to the underside with 5200. If the 
hardware ever has to be removed, the plate will remain, no nuts to fool 
with dropping or worrying about getting access to. A Carver I owned had 
much of the deck hardware attached in this manner, but the backing plate 
was generally 1/4" aluminum, and was glassed in.  I always thought it 
was a better way than trying to locate some obscure nuts from deep 
within the guts of the boat. Many were simply inaccessible.

Steve