Screw Puncture

[medic2415]

I am looking for some advice / help with a problem in the bow of the boat. I am the second owner and in the bow back cushion there are two puncture holes. Upon closer examination there are two screws poking through from behind the vinyl. I am not concerned with patching, but would like to fix the underlying problem (then I will patch). I can not reach the screws and the more I examined the problem it looks like the screws are actually the back half of a bolt that goes through the hull to hold all the cushions in place. There are bolts and nuts every 6 inches or so along the entire bow holding the cushion in place.

Does this make sense?

Simple solution, but not a real fix would be to push a rubber cap over the screw threads with the hopes that it does not puncture again. I think it would still stab you in the back when you lean on it (which has already happened).

Without cutting the vinyl a bunch I can not get any sort of cut -off tool in to shorten the screw.

Boat is 5 years old so I don't expect any kind of warranty repair, even though this is not something the consumer could have done.

I tried attaching photos, but this is a first for that and may not have worked.

Thanks for any thoughts on how to fix this problem.

[NorCaliBu]

They were put in so there has to be a way to reach them.

The fix would be to remove, cut down, and re-install the hardware.

Then fix the vinyl.

It is BS that it needs to be done though. It shouldn't have been done that way to begin with.

[medic2415]

Thanks for the thoughts. Maybe its just me being lazy; I was looking for an easier fix.

I know do it right the first time.

They were put in so there has to be a way to reach them.

The fix would be to remove, cut down, and re-install the hardware.

Then fix the vinyl.

It is BS that it needs to be done though. It shouldn't have been done that way to begin with.

[Indyxc]

Odd my boat has the same type of hole. Upon further inspection I noticed the tip of a wood screw poking up through the bake. I couldn't figure out how it was attached though. It might of been put there before the cushion was mounted, and didn't poke a hole through the vinyl until someone pushed it later.

[medic2415]

I started to make the repair (the right way) and got half of the tan cushion removed. I can not reach the screws in the center of the bow cushion.

Does anyone know how to remove the lower (white) cushion to give me access to the top screws / bolts?

I can see in the space with a mirror and flashlight and there are not any visible screw heads. I can not feel anything beneath the fiberglass shelf that holds the seat base.

Somehow, without brute force, this has to come off.

Thank you for any help.

**for what it is worth, the puncture holes are from lag bolts that were put in at an angle. Not sure why they are there, the rest of the mounts are hex nuts on a prefastened bolt.