Lost your nuts? Cleat nuts fall off? How to get them if you can reach them...

[Julian]

OK, so during our Shelbyville YJBer meeting in August of 2008 my starboard stern cleat came loose and one of the nuts fell completely off in the stern of the boat. GRRRRRRR......
OperationROL happened to have a magnet stick with him, which I used, but only found a "toothed" lock washer. GRRRRR.....
So I tightened the one remaining nut and figured I'd go get a new one from the dealer. When I got back home, I called the dealer and discovered that they didn't have any, and that they were awaiting delivery of a number of brand new cleat sets as that was the only way they could get the nuts from mother Yamaha, and they had a number of customers waiting for nuts!
So I was out cleaning the boat with the shop vac, and thought....huh...maybe I could suck it out of the bilge area. Well after standing on my head for a while with a flashlight peering into the bilge of my 2005 SX230 (via the starboard storage round bilge access plate) I realized there was really only one place for the nut to have gone. In between the cleat and the main bilge is a large hunk of hard floatation foam, unless you happen to be 8 feet tall with long skinny arms, there is no way to reach over it and down to where the nut would be, so I stuck in the hose of my high HP shop vac and sucked around for a while.....and eventually heard the tell tale "THUNK" of me sucking up something large and hard.
Voila...I had found the nut!
I honestly don't think it could have migrated out from where it was into the main bilge area, so if you have a 2007+ without this access plate in the storage area, I'm not sure this tip will do you any good, and you'll have to remove the clean out tray to get to this area.
Some info about the cleats--the nuts are 1" 1/4 inch (not metric), semi stainless (they are a little magnetic, but not enough to lift the nut easily). They require an 1" 1/4 deep well socket to put them back on (or a wrench that will open to 1" 1/4. The come with a stainless washer, and a non-stainless "toothed" lock washer (not sure how else to describe this washer--it is not a standard lock washer...but the variety that has teeth all the way around).
When checking the remaining cleats in my boat I found that ALL 4 that I could access had one loose nut, and one had 2 loose nuts! I couldn't get to the middle cleats, but next time I have the dash out, I'm going to see if I can access one from there.
So go tighten your nuts!

 

[DoubleThrust]

How did you get access to the back of the stern cleat? Mine seems BURIED, and I'm trying to get on the water ASAP today lol.

 

[Julian]

Two ways....through the hatch in the clean out tray, or through the hatch in the engine compartment. But if you need to tighten it, you're going to need to remove the clean out tray (15-20 screws, a couple of hose clamps)....

 

[Dragon]

I just had this happen to me. This time it's the starboard side of the bow. I have a 242 Limited S and there's a narrow crevice the nut and washers fell into. Can't figure out how to get them out. I'm using my 16' snake camera to locate them. But so far, no luck. Any suggestions?

 

[Julian]

I just had this happen to me. This time it's the starboard side of the bow. I have a 242 Limited S and there's a narrow crevice the nut and washers fell into. Can't figure out how to get them out. I'm using my 16' snake camera to locate them. But so far, no luck. Any suggestions?

I've had great luck with a shop vac. You might need to get a narrower hose....but I just stick the hose down in the crevices (empty the vac first) and suck up whatever is down there. Once you get the nut, you'll hear it being sucked up! Now if it is wedged down there, you may need to use both a vac and something to dislodge it at the same time.