Mariner foredeck bungees

[Tangler]

Hello Mariner fans.
I have noticed that the foredeck bungees on one of my Coasters are beginning to wear and need replacing.
Does anyone have any tricks for getting new bungees through those holes?
I'm also thinking of using thicker bungees as I find the originals a bit light. Might need to enlarge the holes.

 

[AM]

I seem to remember that foul language helped. Psychologically, that is. Good luck!

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[AM]

In all seriousness, I think I pulled them through using a paper clip hook and some needle nose pliers.

 

[CPS]

For feeding bungee through holes I like to saturate with CA glue, wait for it to harden, and cut on an angle. Then it's got a nice hard 'needle' to push through

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

I've threaded a lot of shock cord through Mariner decks..

I think I read about the technique somewhere on the Mariner website, but I couldn't find it in a 30 second look just now. At the cut (not melted) end of the shock cord, grab the inner rubber strands with needlenose pliers and pull the rubber out of the sheath as far as you can, then cut the rubber strands. When the rubber retracts into the sheath, twist together the threads of the sheath, to form a 'point'. Sometimes I use that 'as is' sometimes I work a bit of Lexel into the threads. Feed the 'point' through the deck hole, then with one hand inside and one outside, stretch the shock cord. This will reduce the diameter enough to make it easy to pull the cord through the hole.

If you enlarge the holes, you'll have leaks, so I wold advise against that.

 

[Tangler]

Thank you for the suggestions. Plenty to work with there.
John, I certainly wouldn't enlarge the current holes if I was using the current 3/16th bungee as I understand that having a slightly smaller hole minimizes (somewhat) water seepage. However, I was planning to upgrade the bungee to 1/4 so I don't think the current holes, 5/32nds, will be large enough. I was thinking 6 or 7/32nds. Any thoughts on drilling them cleanly other than tape?

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

Any thoughts on drilling them cleanly other than tape?

I wouldn't drill them with a standard twist drill if I wanted to enlarge them. I'd use a tapered (hand) reamer, or alternatively a tapered drill. With either of those, once I'd determined the correct size, I'd mark the reamer with tape to replicate the size on the other holes.


Do you have 1/4" shock cord in front of the cockpit on other boats? It seems pretty heavy (and not so extensible) to me.

 

[Tangler]

Thanks John. I will get me one of those.
I have 1/4in on my XL. Works great. What do you mean by extensible?

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

Thanks John. I will get me one of those.

I use a tapered hand reamer a lot, so for only a few holes it might be a better choice (more long-term utility - I don't think I've used that tapered drill more than a half-dozen times)

I have 1/4in on my XL. Works great. What do you mean by extensible?

Perhaps I'm not brawny enough , but I find that the 1/4" doesn't stretch as much. I got used to using the shock cord with the cleats on my Mariners for a paddle park - not sure I could do that with 1/4", but obviously you can.

 

[cougarmeat]

Just for terminology, if this kind of maintenance is required on another boat, the rubber core trimming is creating a taper. Once the taper is passed through the deck, you can grab it with pliers, and stretching the bungee would make it a little narrower for ease in getting more material through the holes.

Though the original setup had a "shelf" for a map, you could substitute something that might be sized better for you - like a flexible cutting board (white, flexible plastic), you'd trim to the size you want. The bungee coming through the deck would then go through holes punched in the cutting board, supporting it under the deck.

 

[Tangler]

John, my XL came with the 1/4" bungees. They seemed to work fine for the paddle park and generally held other items on deck firmly. My old Seafarer had similar bungees too. The 3/16" always seemed a bit wimpy to me. I think we are in the same brawniness category...
Thanks for the clarification cougarmeat. Not sure about keeping the shelf.

 

[cougarmeat]

In looking for Bungee replacements for another project last year, I discovered that some vendors measure the bungee diameter differently. For example, if the bungee is solid core instead of strands, the "size" might be the size of the core, not including the sheath. Doesn't make sense - I know. but I do have samples of different physical sizes that were listed as the same size in the sale.

 

[Mowog73]

So, the outside diameter isn't always the outside diameter. depends who you buy it from? okay....

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

So, the outside diameter isn't always the outside diameter. depends who you buy it from? okay....

I'm not sure if it's the same for shock cord as line, but I've noticed that a lot of line sizes have changed a bit - either metric (EU/Asian) line marked in Imperial fractional sizes or the converse with US made line. And with line, the diameter changes quite a bit after it's used/wetted/stretched - I haven't noticed shock cord doing that to the same extent. So YMMV as the saying goes....Usually it doesn't matter, but with pulling the cord through the Mariner deck, it might. I found that Canadian Novabraid(Novatech) 3/16 shock cord - which I got at Trotac the local Victoria chandler- fit, when I last did a Mariner deck in 2021.

 

[Roy222]

Soap and water to luburcate the cord might help, or Bees wax?

 

[Mcgee]

Greeting, I have an 06 Valley Avocet & it’s time to replace the bungee. Any idea what size it is, 5mm , 6mm or something different? Thanks!