7/22 Garibaldi Rough Ride for Tuna

[Zarn]

On 7/22 I knew it might be a washing machine at first light last Friday and then get better as the day went on . And... it did not disappoint. It was a slammer and tough ride out even for the "big boats". I struggled to maintain 13-16mph and if it was not for the 32' tin can breaking swell for me at 15-18mph I would have turned around several times. It finally laid down a bit around the blue water line at the 28 west. Long story, short around the 35/36 line the troll started to work. Ended the day with 7 tuna on the 37/48... all is good.

That is until I get back to the dock and put her on the trailer. I noticed the port side upper stove bolt on the original S/S kicker plate had broken off and my 8hp honda was hanging back quite cockeyed on the remaining three bolts. Oh My...

Well it's time to either replace the the kicker plate or figure out how to dig out the broken bolt and install something along the lines of a grade 8 S/S nut and bolt. Looking for the links here on how to best access the bolt sandwiched between the transom and the inner sponsor transom plate. Any thoughts on this or the direct links here describing the process are appreciated.

[GregE]

A bolt sheared?!?!?!   

Several discussions with pictures on accessing kicker plate bolts.

Bet you're going to carving some  circular bit holes from the inside....

[Tunacious]

Zarn,
Im sorry you had such a rough ride. 

I had planned on fishing on friday but at noon on thursday I did not have as many fish as I had hoped for so I decided to fish late and not fish on friday.

I came across the Garbaldi bar at 8:30 PM at 20 knots.  Boat full of fish and beautiful ride.  I guess I made the right decision.

Those rough rides really suck.   :hoboy:

[BestBoats]

Zara, had the same exact thing happen to me last year but I was 42 miles out and the kicker almost went for a swim. Didn't even get to fish had to tie it up (that was a battle)and head in. Now I have the Arima fixed bracket :party:. My advice would be to upgrade. Too many moving parts for trailering and rougher ocean conditions we face.  :twocents:

[Zarn]

You are a wise man... I fished Wed & Thurs. as well. Wed. was flat, 28mph run out to the 50 line. Back was 25 mph to 19 line then a 17mph slog to the jaws. Fishing was slow. Wed. I went north to MacAuthur Canyon area to explore and only turned three fish.

Thurs. was the nice both ways. Thurs & Fri. the troll was good due west from the 46 and never went further then the 48 line. These days I usually stop at 6-8 fish. Running the boat and reeling down on those 12-16 fish days, solo, is a bit much anymore...LOL.  I did not mind the ride on Fri. as much as the boat did. I am used to getting smacked around on tuna days in a small boat.

Zarn,
Im sorry you had such a rough ride. 

I had planned on fishing on friday but at noon on thursday I did not have as many fish as I had hoped for so I decided to fish late and not fish on friday.

I came across the Garbaldi bar at 8:30 PM at 20 knots.  Boat full of fish and beautiful ride.  I guess I made the right decision.

Those rough rides really suck.   :hoboy:

[Zarn]

Appreciate the assistance, Thank You. I found the info I need to move the repair forward... if I don't find any dry rot.

I am not yet up to speed on what might be out there for "strong" stainless nuts and bolts to fit a repair application. But it looks like T-316 is what I might be looking for. Any other thoughts on this?

Also does anyone know the what is the length of the bolt used to attach the original or new Arima kicker bracket to the transom?

[Threeweight]

On my 89' Chaser, I was lucky and Arima (or the dealer) used nuts and bolts for the original bracket install.  On some boats, they installed plate with threaded studs welded onto it before the hull liner/foam was installed.  If that 's the case, you have a mess to deal with.

I don't remember exactly what mine used, but they were pretty good sized, maybe 1/2" diameter.  Length didn't matter, as long as they were long enough to poke through the hull and get a good thick fender washer + nylock nut on.  I used high grade stainless hardware from Englunds, as I recall, when I replaced my bracket.