F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Hi folks

I like things to be secure within my boats and find it bloody annoying when everything ends up in the middle, under my feet
Thought I'd make use of the hull securing bolts to lash onto by replacing the two plastic 'wing nuts' with some stainless M12 'D' nuts, 53mm OA dia and 32mm ID.
You can buy 'D' headed bolts but the threads are too long which will allow water past the rubber seals so I need to check there's enough bolt length and thread left on it to do the same at the other end and drill out the 'D' nuts thread so they can be slid over the bolts shank then I'll have 4 to tie onto



Paul

Nice work Paul.

I had assumed that the use of a plastic wing nut was to act as a sacrificial item if you suffer a large impact such as running into or off a large wave when I would imagine the thread could strip and the hull joint flex without further damage. maybe in the same scenario with a steel nut the fiberglass would be stressed.

I don't know but just guessing why they used a nylon winged nut in the first place.

john

Cracking idea Paul, Probably another upgrade that other F-Rib owners will do.
I understand what your saying John, but I think the bolt is just to ensure the floor sections keep squeezed together. The floor sections have a tongue & groove set-up to hold it all level, so I cant see the sea being able to stress the joints as long as the nut/bolt are tight. Any minimal required flex would be absorbed by the rubber bushing ?

Martin

Hi John,

Hull bolts and wing nuts are galv. for Winboat's home market. For US & UK markets they changed to stainless steel bolts for improved salt water resistance, and nylon wing nuts to prevent galling and be more finger friendly in cold weather.

harrison

Ah, ok. its just me over thinking things.

I will be getting a 330 in about a week So I am planning how to best outfit it for fishing.

How easily do the seats slide ie if I wanted to sit on the rear seat when motoring but then slide it forward for actual fishing. Would that be easy or a bit of a pain?

thanks

John,

Hope you enjoy your new 330.
No problem sliding the seats. In fact they slide rear wards all by themselves when you hit the throttle. Just another of the little F- Rib/Winboat foibles you have to put up with/modify.

Harrison

sailrepair wrote:Nice work Paul.

I had assumed that the use of a plastic wing nut was to act as a sacrificial item if you suffer a large impact such as running into or off a large wave when I would imagine the thread could strip and the hull joint flex without further damage. maybe in the same scenario with a steel nut the fiberglass would be stressed.

I don't know but just guessing why they used a nylon winged nut in the first place.

john

John

I like your 'thinking outside the box' as engineers do but in this case the plastic wing nuts were just there to overcome salt water corrosion issues others have stated previously.

Paul

harrison wrote:John,
No problem sliding the seats. In fact they slide rear wards all by themselves when you hit the throttle. Just another of the little F- Rib/Winboat foibles you have to put up with/modify.

Harrison

Harrison

Agreed, this was an annoying issue I found when testing the 375 when accelerating 'hard' and with my 360 so looking at the set-up I've now added these bushes to the underside of the seat to apply pressure/friction to the webbing These are 'buffers' you can buy from any DIY store for a few quid and even these shallow ones have improved matters
I couldn't really 'gun' the motor as the Mrs was getting cold and wet preventing me testing further and fitting the thicker size up of the selection I purchased to find the 'fix' But the next time out I'll fit the thicker size up and see how it goes
Doing a 'mod' this way doesn't seem to affect the seats operation as long as you lift it up to slide it to your desired location......so far that is
When I've tried them all out I'll do a 'mod' thread if it's a fix

Paul