I had to fix one of mine before last season that pulled out. I ended up pulling bolts out bolts, I found some metal anchors (like what you would screw into sheet rock then put screw in) and then put some screws in them. It held till the end of season, but that was it!!

Oh, if your hinges need work, you can bet there is not much holding your vinyl either!

My customer has not called me back on his 25 Outlaw that needs both the complete motorlid and rear bench seating. I heard he might be selling the boat now.

Ok I'm curious now. If someone dives in the water then climbs up the ladder onto the swim platform soaked, then wants to get back into the boat with all the water dripping on the sunpad does it get through the vinyl and into the cushions underneath? If thats the case than they suck and won't last long at all especially the actuator trying to lift an extra 100lbs of water.

Yesterday I tied up to a big Silverton 42 (I think) and my friends would dive off the top of that boat then climb up my ladder and use my sunpad to get back up on the other boat to dive again. At first I thought NOOOOOO WAY! But then I saw the splash from waves between the 2 boats getting into my cockpit and all over everything so I figured hey its a boat its gonna get wet and I joined in on the fun.

Yep, you can bet your bottom dollar that the water is seeping through the seams and stitching right into that foam. And that is why we use marine grade plywood when we repair them. Yes, the extra weight sucks - just imagine what it is like if you store the boat outdoors where it can be rained on. At least in the garage they generally have a chnace to dry out after a while.

What extra weight? I plastered mine with fiberglass to direct the water away from the wood where it rotted before. I used "dry" marine plywood. Not the "yellow" treated stuff, which is wet and heavy. This wood is just as light as standard CDX plywood.

Ivan, yes, its getting it, but normally, they have a sheet of plastic over the foam for it to "help" keep the water out. When I wash mine after each outing, I leave the hatch up and let it drain for 20-30 minutes at least and try to get her a few hours in the sun before putting the cockpit cover back on.