Livewell lid & hydraulic trim !X*#?X&%*

[Nick(Ia)]

Okay, preface this by saying I'm an idiot...

Took the nephews (ages 8-6-4) fishing yesterday-fine outing until we pull the boat out and I trim the motor up...
we had caught a few fish and they were in the livewell, the boys were pretty happy about their catch and had been "examining" their fish on several occasions on the way in and at the ramp. The lid to the livewell had been left open and I didn't even think about it as I trimmed the motor...result, I heard the cracking/tearing sound as the motor ripped the piano hinge off the frame. I don't have many mechanical skills and I'm in need of a quick fix to secure the lid. Any suggestions? Boat is a Lund 1900 SE.

Thanks in advance for your laughter and suggestions.

Dave

[Dave Q]

Well lol my name is also Dave and yes I did that as well. I managed to pull/ pop out about 3 or 4 of the rivets on the hindge. What I did was straighten it as best as I could and get every thing bent back as it was. I then drilled out a rivet or two and used small bolts and washers. hope that might help.

[REW]

Nick,
The fix is simple.
If you don't have the mechanical skills to handle the procedure that I outline, simply take it to your nearby auto body shop and they can fix it in a few minutes to an hour or so.

-
Get an electric drill with a drill bit that is a bit smaller than 3/16th inch.
Most of the rivets used in these applications use a 3/16th rivet.

Drill the rivets out of the hinge that didn't tear out.
With the lid and hinge off of the boat - replace it - if the lid has been destroyed. If it is just the hinge, take a hammer and a hard surface and straighten the lid - if bent, and the hinge if bent.
If there are any bad rivets on the lid side - drill them out at this time.
Clean everything up on the lid and hinge side of theings.
Use pop rivets with backing washers and replace any bad rivets on the lid and hinge.

Finally, place the lid and hinge back in positon and use pop rivets to reattach the lid to the deck.

Go fishing.

REW


p.s.
If you have the tools and rivets, this should be about a 20 minute job.

[T Mac]

Well lol my name is also Dave and yes I did that as well. I managed to pull/ pop out about 3 or 4 of the rivets on the hindge. What I did was straighten it as best as I could and get every thing bent back as it was. I then drilled out a rivet or two and used small bolts and washers. hope that might help.

LOL.....Sounds familiar, somehow...? Hey not laughing at Dave in Iowa.
Chuckling at my friend, Dave in Saskatoon.

"My name is Dave,....and I am a livewell lid destroyer, too"
:D


PS... worse case scenario...one can get a new piano hinge thru a Lund dealer...in Iowa Dave's case= Kennedy Marine in Cedar Rapids.

[maxxum]

Nick, Sorry to hear about your problem. Hope you can get it fixed. On behalf of the nephews, and others that take kids fishing. Thanks for teaching them how to fish. You may not realize how much it will mean to them. I for one think you are an awesome Uncle.

[geareng]

Dido.............. I am also a livewell lid destroyer.

I did the exact same thing last fall. Fixed it and it looks and works fine. Learned a lesson though, I will never do it again.

[Nick(Ia)]

thanks for the suggestions and the laughs...I still can't believe I busted the darn thing. Performed a hybrid fix and it appears to work and look fine.

REW: I'm seriously mechanically challenged...it took me 45 minutes, I broke a drill bit and I swore alot. Thanks for the help.

[kipperdoo]

I too am a livewell lid distroyer

[karpbuster]

Hmmm I have done it all, except that. LOL

Thanks for the warning.

karpbuster

[chamookman]

Whew ! I thought I was the only one that had done that :crazy:. C-man

[AllenW]

You know, one more post and OSHA will get involved and we'll have lid switches on our livewells which will keep us from hurting ourselfs......
Probably some gaget to keep us from drowning in it too. :)

Nope, never done it...on the other hand the cord that is connected to the lid to keep it from over opening in my boat is so short all ya have to do is look at it and the lid will come crashing down on your wrists....done this several times..

Been meaning to fix that, as soon as the band aids come off....:)

Al

[baggyd]

Just be glad all you did was bend up the livewell lid......I had the boat home for about 30 minutes when I did that, only the livewell lid survived, the motor cowling on the mercury however did not. Ever see a grown man cry. That was 4 years ago and the neighbors still talk about all the swearing and cussing that came from the driveway that day!