99 2300 - Removing Leaning Post Question

[gman1001]

Trying to remove the leaning post from the top of the live well. Most of the aft screws have a nut that is accessed from within the bait well. It appears the fwd. screws also have a nut, BUT its not accessible from within the bait well.

Guessing I have to remove the entire bait well from the deck of the boat to get to those nuts? Anyone else have experience with this and can guide me before I do a bit of trial and error?

Tx!

 

[tomc585]

Is it possible those nuts are imbedded in the bait well? Are they spinning on you? Can you post a pic for reference? Als, what's the reason for removal? (maybe we can give a different plan of attack)

 

[gman1001]

Is it possible those nuts are imbedded in the bait well? Are they spinning on you? Can you post a pic for reference? Als, what's the reason for removal? (maybe we can give a different plan of attack)

I'll try to take a pic tomr in the daylight. I suppose its possible the nuts are embedded. I was able to remove one of the fwd. screws which is a machine screw, vs. wood screw, so I know there is a nut in there somewhere!

I need to remove the leaning post as I'm going to sandblast then paint it this winter. The aluminum is looking a bit tired these days!

 

[gman1001]

Well. Curiosity and a nap got me thinking, I’ll just remove the whole dam bait well and look under it for the nuts. Yup, there they are. Pic attached.

Check out the underside of the leaning post pedestals. They have a date of 1997 and say SC however my boat is a DV. I guess original buyer had some fun tweaking the boat.

Lastly, looks like the area under the baitwell was really carved up! Plywood is solid so who knows.

 

[Parker Mark]

This was a lot of advice. I plan on remodeling my helm seat too. TY

 

[gman1001]

This was a lot of advice. I plan on remodeling my helm seat too. TY

What are your plans? I’m going to sandblast then paint the alum. I think I can live with the cushions for awhile.

 

[Parker Mark]

I'm going to change the bench seat and create a permanent backrest and have at least 6 rod holders and a tackle station

 

[rseate]

I'm going to change the bench seat and create a permanent backrest and have at least 6 rod holders and a tackle station

I had this built locally

 

[Parker Mark]

That's nice set up you had made. As mentioned, I'm adding tackle station and after I wrote the prior response, I thought to add tackle storage on the sides too.

 

[Seaway85]

How hard was it to get the whole baitwell off of the deck? My baitwell developed a leak that slowly seeps out of the old sealant around the lip and I'm planning on taking it off for a repair this spring.

 

[gman1001]

How hard was it to get the whole baitwell off of the deck? My baitwell developed a leak that slowly seeps out of the old sealant around the lip and I'm planning on taking it off for a repair this spring.

Super easy. I disconnected water supply from the PORT side of the unit through the port hole. Unscrewed all of the deck screws, then gave it a gentle 'hip check' done. Glad I did this as the drain hose was barely connected to the bottom of the bait well! There was silicone caulking around the base that immediately gave way. Because I'm a glutton for projects, I'm going to layer glass on the underside of the baitwell lip that rests on the deck. It is way to thin and several of the screw holes have cracked and look like hell. Easy project in the basement this winter.