Removing top two transom bolts Pulsare 2000 BRX

[ForbesZ]

I am changing around my jack plate setup on my Pulsare 2000 BRX and decided to upgrade the 2" x 3" x 1/8" metal plates that were under the heads of the transom bolts from the factory to something stronger. I pulled out the bottom two transom bolts and put a 3/8" thick x 2-1/2" x 13" piece of T6061 aluminum flat bar under both bottom bolts. Nice and beefy now. I can't quite do the same for the top because the underside of the motor splash well is between the bolts, so I've cut two 4" lengths of the same flat bar and drilled a hole in each of them. The only problem I have now is that the top two transom bolts won't come out because the bolt heads can't get past the underside of the motor splash well. It looks like Checkmate put in the transom bolts before they attached the deck to the hull.

Does anyone know approximately how thick the fiberglass of the splash well is likely to be on these boats? It's just the head of the bolt that's catching so I would only need to grind 1/8" (at the most) off the underside of the splash well to be able to slide the bolts out of the transom.

The only other option I can think of is to grind one of the flat sides of the hex head so it's flush with the bolt shank, but I'd really rather not take a chance on compromising the strength of the transom bolts with the motor and setback I have.

Thanks for any info and suggestions!

 

[kushog]

Man, I don't like either of those options. What if you cut the bolts heads off completely and put new ones in the other way?

 

[ForbesZ]

What if you cut the bolts heads off completely and put new ones in the other way?

I'm not sure how long the bolts need to be but I imagine it's around 5" give or take. I'm not sure if that length of bolt will fit down inside the jack plate squarely so that the bolts can be pushed through the holes. I'll have to check that out. If there is enough room to fit the bolts I don't see any harm with the nuts being on the inside of the transom. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[ForbesZ]

Had another look ... there's no way the top bolts are coming out by sanding the bottom side of the splash well. Way too much interference. The only way to remove them is to cut the heads off the bolts and push them through the transom, but then I'll have no top bolts at all because there's no way to install new ones. Why Checkmate would do it this way is beyond me ... if I ever galled those bolts I'd be screwed. There's a chance I could put new bolts through from the outside and put the nuts on the inside as kushog suggested, but that means I have to find a transom jack that has enough space inside it for the 5" bolt to be pushed through. My current transom jack would do it, but I'm planning on ditching that one. Frustrating.

At this point I think I might as well just cut the splash well out of the boat entirely, fill in its drain hole, and put new glass flat over the top of where it used to be. I can't even see the point of that little splash well being there to begin with - it's so small that I doubt it would even hold a gallon of water. And the large recess in the rear deck that allows the motor to tilt up is plenty deep enough to prevent water from coming over the back of the transom and into the boat.

Does anyone know of a good reason for that splash well to be there? It's circled in the picture below.