Stupid Manatee owner...Need some advice

Hi All:

We did something stupid: we left the back gangway/swim platform down on our Manatee and walked away from the boat for a short period of time and the winds kicked up... the back platform is now slightly out of alignment from hitting the dock. The hinges look good, but the "bottom" of the platform (When it is vertical) seems to have one side of the hinge forced up into the platform.



Any advice on how to repair? I am thinking I need to take the platform off. I may need to re-glass the bottom of the platform to reinforce where it is pushed in slightly... I don't know what can of worms I may be opening. We will be pulling the boat for the winter in October, but would like to fix before then if possible.



Thanks

Paul - Manatee "Oma"

I suspect that either the hinge(s) got bent or their bedding warped. What changes in either would allow the door to close normally? Figure that out & you've got the easy part done. Yrs ago another Manatee owner needed new hinges for whatever reason & had to have them fabricated. Healhustler is the most knowledgeable aft door guy, maybe he’ll chime in.

The hinges may be bent and where they mount to the fiberglass may be crushed in a little. First see if it is just the hinges. If so you can take one off at a time and straighten them.

But if it is the attachment then you probably will have to take the whole thing off. But it may be as simple as filling in the depression with some Marine Tex and bolting it back on.

Good luck!

David

That door is not that thick at the hinge points that the hinge would bend first, so my guess is that you probably elongated the screw holes where the hinge fastens. Dave has the right idea, that being to remove the cables that suspend the door, and put some floatation on the water beneath the door so it can rest in the open position. The hinges are typically long 3/8” lag screws instead of bolts. Remove the hinge at the point you suspect is damaged and drill the elongated holes oversized. Fill them with thickend West System Epoxy and redrill the size needed for the screws. If you have the West system epoxy and hardener, the whole job is a 24 hour fix, including drying. Yours is far from the first door damaged this way. Make sure to inspect the hinge and straighten if it has any signs of a bend. These hinges are old and rusty but typically remain stronger than the door. Might be a good time to paint them with Ospho and/or a coat of Rustolium.

By the way. Both hinge areas on the door bottom and the transom are usually backed with 5/8” or 3/4” scrap teak from the factory, If you do need to repair the holes as described above, you wont be able to put anything like a backing plate or tape beneath the holes to prevent the epoxy from dripping through. You’ll need to use some Epoxy putty, Marine Tex or tissue (or whatever) to force down into the bottom of the hole before filling.

If you do need to repair the holes as described above, you wont be able to put anything like a backing plate or tape beneath the holes to prevent the epoxy from dripping through. You’ll need to use some Epoxy putty, Marine Tex or tissue (or whatever) to force down into the bottom of the hole before filling.

Click to expand...

When I’ve had to form a plug deep in a hole prior to filling with epoxy I used foam pipe insulation, the black tubular stuff. I would cut a chunk & stuff it into the hole until I had the cavity plugged to whatever depth I needed.