Windshield bolts

To faciliate a new gel coat on the deck I removed the windshield. In the process the bolts cracked off, or are worthless. The bolts have a rectangular head that fits into the windshield frame. I can't find these bolts anywhere. Where can I find some stainless bolts for this? Also, below the deck the bolts were secured with fiber washers and regular nuts. Any reason why I shouldn't use fiber washers with nylon locking nuts?

It is a 1978 Ski Nautique with the 2-piece black windshield.

It wasn't too long ago that I suggested welding flat "T" tabs to the end of SS threaded rod but then someone came through with a source! Of course, I can't find the thread! Hang in there and maybe the person who knew of the source will see your request.

How about some pictures of the gel job?

Right now the boat is a mess. I sanded the entire deck and hullsides and transom down with 40, then 60 and 80 grit sandpaper. I uncovered a lot of previous repairs/filler, and a little bit of epoxy. All in all, it is in good shape. No rotten wood, and only one small crack in the deck joint. I am bringing the boat for gel coating to Artisan Boat and Body Repair in Windor, Wi. after Thanksgiving. There were blisters everywhere below the waterline that I had to sand out right down to the fiberglass. I am not doing the bottom at this time - probably work on that next fall. Same thing - pockmarked with blisters. My fear is that there is still well-blended paint on the boat sides, which will screw up the gel coat. We'll see. I really don't want to do any more sanding except for after the gel coat.

The stringer issue was my biggest concern when I got the boat. The previous owner put in a new floor and was confident that all of the motor mount bolts were tight. He even took samples of the stringers and said they were solid. So far that seems the case. The plywood lower transom exhaust holes were a bit damp, but pretty good. Going forward, I'll need to do something about the boat's bottom, but I have no good way to work on that while it's on the trailer. Maybe I'll have Artisan sand and paint/gel coat the bottom next year.

Here is an email from the PO:
I am positive that the stringers are solid. When I pulled out the old floor I fully inspected the stringers (in the front center section of the hull and back center section there is access to the primaries for almost the entire length). While the old floor was out I used a 1/8" drill bit to take small core samples in various spots (holes were CPES'd (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) and reglassed before replacing floor) all core samples were solid and dry wood. The one spot of deterioration was the top 1.5 inches of the primaries starting about 8inches from behind the back motor mounts and running to about 4 inches prior to the gas tank. I took out the small amount of bad wood in this section, CPES'd the stingers, and used the original fiberglass shell of the stingers to build up the area of removed wood with Seacast (http://transomrepair.com/zk/ -- here is a website showing its properties). I then recapped the stringers in fiberglass prior to replacing the floor with marine grade ply (also sealed before installing) and heavy duty marine carpet. Note that the back floor is completely removable to provide acess to the log and more room to get at the trans if ever needed (basically the same as original from that factory). The front center section was glassed in, but I did install an access port (screw off port - similar to what is over the thru hull shaft log) for easier access in the case that lines ever need to be fished thru the center of the hull. When replacing the front center section I also added some reinforcement for the pylon.

All said, when I redid the floor I made sure that I was not going to have to do it again for a long time. In conjunction, all eight motor mount bolts still grab hard into solid wood.

Yes, he wa a member - do a search on the boat and you can find the previous owners. But I found the boat on Craigslist.