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How to tighten Skeg bolts? '01 23lsv


mountaineerhill

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When I pull my boat out of the water I get noticeable drainage coming from my front skeg. I also think this is where my leak is coming from. When I take of from a stop all the water runs to the back and the bilge comes on. 

My questions is how do I get to the bolts holding the skegs on? They look to be well behind the ski locker. Do I have to pull the floor and fuel tank? I was hoping it would be simple enough as reaching my hand back there with a ratchet wrench.

 

Also I haven't hit anything or run aground (to my knowledge) since I owned the boat in the past 3 years.

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You tighten them from the bottom , there are no nuts inside the boat they self tap into the fiberglass.  So if they are spinning then you need to do a little repair to the holes.  Also the skeg and bolts should be sealed with 4200

Edited by oldjeep
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Not true on '01s.  This is a very big job.  We had this happen last year.  They're screwed in from above, meaning back seat base, floor, and gas tank have to come out.  Reattach with glue and some loc-tite.

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58 minutes ago, UWSkier said:

Not true on '01s.  This is a very big job.  We had this happen last year.  They're screwed in from above, meaning back seat base, floor, and gas tank have to come out.  Reattach with glue and some loc-tite.

Ouch.  Sorry, I assumed that they would be the same as an 04

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16 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Ouch.  Sorry, I assumed that they would be the same as an 04

Anything pre-gorilla fins was bolted from above.  '03 was the change IIRC.

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Just now, UWSkier said:

Anything pre-gorilla fins was bolted from above.  '03 was the change IIRC.

04 (response lxi) doesn't have gorilla fins it has 3 small fins that are screwed in from bottom

Edited by oldjeep
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Just now, oldjeep said:

04 (response) doesn't have gorilla fins it has 3 small fins that are screwed in from bottom

Gorillas are v-drive only.  DD have been screwed in from below for longer.

Edited by UWSkier
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Just did this during a motor swap.  On my 04 23LSV Wakesetter they are 3 allen head bolts per skeg.  Access is only from the top under the fuel tank.  Not hard but time consuming, and YES use 4200 to re-seal.

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On 6/27/2017 at 8:53 AM, UWSkier said:

Not true on '01s.  This is a very big job.  We had this happen last year.  They're screwed in from above, meaning back seat base, floor, and gas tank have to come out.  Reattach with glue and some loc-tite.

Any tips on getting to them? Trying to get this done before the long weekend 

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7 minutes ago, mountaineerhill said:

Any tips on getting to them? Trying to get this done before the long weekend 

On the 21 footers, need to get the seat bases up to remove the floor panel to remove the gas tank.  Getting the seat base up takes the longest.  There are countless buried screws that are just impossible to locate.  Once you've got that part done, the rest is pretty easy.

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34 minutes ago, UWSkier said:

On the 21 footers, need to get the seat bases up to remove the floor panel to remove the gas tank.  Getting the seat base up takes the longest.  There are countless buried screws that are just impossible to locate.  Once you've got that part done, the rest is pretty easy.

It looks like the floor panels ends right at the seat bases on my '23. I might get away with just removing the floor panel. This should be interesting. 

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Well I went out and took pictures and planned out how I'm going to do this. The gas tank is currently full so I am taking the boat out this holiday weekend to burn all of it, while watching how fast the leak fills the bilge. 

A few questions, after removing the floor panel and rear seat base does the tank slide back? There is very little room to the V-drive and the front of the tank sits 4-6" under the floor still. 

IMG_6957_zpseh9bvstp.jpg

 

 

The tank then then goes under the rear seat base and around the V-drive

IMG_6961_zpspjvydgg2.jpg

 

 

It it looks like my seat base is held on by these aluminum tabs and screwed from there. (s***ty LED strip was removed tonight)

IMG_6963_zpsnrysbzwv.jpg

 

Edited by mountaineerhill
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Not to hijack, but if doing this, is there a better way to retrofit a different fin on there that screws on from the bottom so you dont have to remove the tank to repair? Why were they through bolted anyway?

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Might try drilling out the old screws from below being careful with a stop set so as to not drill into the fuel tank. Then camfer the skeg to allow for larger head and body screws and install new from the bottom with lots of 5200 sealer. Best of luck and safe and happy boating!

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1 hour ago, mountaineerhill said:

Well I went out and took pictures and planned out how I'm going to do this. The gas tank is currently full so I am taking the boat out this holiday weekend to burn all of it, while watching how fast the leak fills the bilge. 

A few questions, after removing the floor panel and rear seat base does the tank slide back? There is very little room to the V-drive and the front of the tank sits 4-6" under the floor still. 

IMG_6957_zpseh9bvstp.jpg

 

 

The tank then then goes under the rear seat base and around the V-drive

IMG_6961_zpspjvydgg2.jpg

 

 

It it looks like my seat base is held on by these aluminum tabs and screwed from there. (s***ty LED strip was removed tonight)

IMG_6963_zpsnrysbzwv.jpg

 

they're held down with more than just those brackets.  Lots of hidden screws and cursing...

You may be able to just slide your gas tank back enough to get to it, but it may end up needing to come out.

For this weekend, you might want to just try gluing the hell out of it until you can get to it from above to tighten down the screws.  That might be all you need.

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2 hours ago, UWSkier said:

they're held down with more than just those brackets.  Lots of hidden screws and cursing...

You may be able to just slide your gas tank back enough to get to it, but it may end up needing to come out.

For this weekend, you might want to just try gluing the hell out of it until you can get to it from above to tighten down the screws.  That might be all you need.

 

Lovely.. any tips for finding the hidden screws? Or is it pretty much feeling around with the drill to you find them?

 

My plan was to get some 3M 4200 and press the skeg up with Wood/jack-stand to see if that would do it for now. This is definitely starting to look like an offseason project that hit in the middle of summer....

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9 hours ago, mountaineerhill said:

 

Lovely.. any tips for finding the hidden screws? Or is it pretty much feeling around with the drill to you find them?

 

My plan was to get some 3M 4200 and press the skeg up with Wood/jack-stand to see if that would do it for now. This is definitely starting to look like an offseason project that hit in the middle of summer....

For us, was lots of feeling around.  Eventually gave up and took it to someone who knew what they were doing.  Tank did have to come out on the 21.

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I only had to remove the U shaped rear seat base to get my tank out.  The U - shape vertical piece is all you need to remove - the L brackets have to be unscrewed either from the floor or the vertical seat support,  on the front (not inside/under the seat) there was 2 or 3 screws holding the 2 side pieces (side pieces closes to the Vdrive). Sliding the tank it will not move it enough to get the bolts.  As far as changing the mounting I don't think its worth it.  Mine made it 13 years before it needed it.  I'll take that design flaw if I only have to fix it once every decade.  

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