lifting ring area repair

Both of the lifting rings on the Correct Craft inboard I am working on have "wallerd" out the surrounding fiberglass area. This allows the ring to wobble side to side. and eventually allow water to enter the core in that area.

Here is a 6 dollar fix for this problem. The plate in the picture can be bought from any T-top or tower builder. Its basically a mounting plate for the top to the floor. They weld the pipe to this plate when fabricating. I bought this one at Wolfs for 6 bucks.

I did have to enlarge the hole about a 1/16 of an inch. to get a nice smooth fit.

I used 4200 sealer to fit/seal the plate to the deck.











dave.

David, Michigan didn't say what year the boat is but I have seen lifting rings that shape on older boats. The shape is for attaching a rope like you mentioned but it's for the mooring lines and not towing.

yeh, yeh, I have heard it all before. That is why I made the comment about how it "looks" like it was intented to be used as a tow point. Sorry if I started the debate again. I am on the side of the fence that says us it to pull whatever.

Ok, let me ask a question: Is that lifting ring supposed to be oriented 90 degrees to what is shown in the pics? If so, the design would suggest mooring instead of towing. In the picture, you will notice that the fiberglass is not damaged due to any possible horizontal loads, just worn our from years of vibration/abrasion.

On my '93, CC placed a towing spool on the stern deck. the spool is simply through bolted with an aluminum backing plate. The through bolt is either 5/16" or 1/2" max...much smaller than the hub of the lifting rings. the smaller size would cause more stress to the fiberglass. I tow the kids from the spool all the time without any issues.

Now, in the picture above, the lifting ring does not screw to the deck to prevent rotation (like the new ones) this could have caused the wear to the fiberglass. Also the deck is allowed to flex up and down contributing to the wear. the new styles that screw to the deck have a plywood backing plate to suppport the deck (via a nut on the threaded rod) so that the screws do not rip out of the fiberglass if someone steps on the deck near the lifting ring. This equates to no movement and thus no long term wearing of the fiberglass.

Sorry for the long winded post, I am bored at work today.

Will if it would have been me I would have cut the threaded rod down or loosen the jam nuts and screwed the lift ring down more instead of messing with adding the plate, it would have been a much cleaner look to me.

All good points but the fact of the matter is the fiberglass was worn to the point the flange of the lifting eye no longer covered it. Also I was too lazy to remove the 75 gallon tank to access the lifting ring rod..

This way the deck is supported for horizontal loads and the eye is still perfect for vertical loads. Best of both worlds. Oh and the picture that shows the hinge slightly off center, that is factory placement. So you see I am a purest. I didnt change that

dave

I use the rear lifting eye for pulling tubes, no problems here.

Everyone has their own way of fixing things. I think the metal escutcheon looks fine (original or not). If it was me, I would wax up that lifting ring, fit it in place (leaving high) and force thickened epoxy round the lifting ring. Of course tape off or wax up the fiberglass deck first. Once the epoxy hardens, it can be sanded flush and the lifting ring now has the proper sized hole. Gelcoat can be applied if necessary.

Again, I think the escutcheon looks good.

Shot off the stern of the 78, one of my favorite photos, makes me wish it was summer for us in the north

Just wanted to let you know that I like your idea. I also do alot of towing tubes and wake boards with my 23Fish and have had my eye loosen up. will probably copy yours. Thanks