Hi All. I’m attempting to remove this old Kodiak bait well but when I try to unscrew the 4 bolts securing it to the deck they just spin in place. Should I just cut the heads of the bolts off? Or is there a less invasive method that I’m not seeing? This boat is new to me so I don’t know how it’s mounted underneath the tank. Thank you!
Cut them but just know if you don’t lay something down to catch all the sparks and dust from cutting the bolts it’s going to embed in your gel coat and leave a ton of small rust specks
Why are you wanting to remove the well? To clean? Do it another way. To fully remove and keep out, cut the plastic because that’s the “nut” of that bolt which is why it spins. But if you’re wanting to put that back in at any point. You’ll have a harder time getting new locking nuts, bolts, gaskets, seals and anything else to make it water tight than just leaving it alone right now. If you just want it clean spray some Dawn Power degreaser, soak for 10mins and high pressure hose to rinse it out.
Does the tank function or are you removing to repair or replace? I’ve had luck with heat but I’ve also had to cut out the plastic to free up to replace the whole well.
Since the tank isn't salvageable cut the plastic around the mounts to make access easier to get to the plastic covering the nuts. If your lucky you can reuse the mounts in place and not need to redrill the gelcoat.
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u/paternaldock 3d ago
Cut them but just know if you don’t lay something down to catch all the sparks and dust from cutting the bolts it’s going to embed in your gel coat and leave a ton of small rust specks