Tall Tails Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 Wandering around the boat the other day I found my starboard side power pole loose on its bracket. Inspecting it I see on each mounting bolt a large, thick washer in the back, a skinny, misshapen washer in front with a rubber washer smashed between it and the bracket. The port PP was installed the same way and 2 of the 4 bolts were loose enough to spin freely. Thick washer on back of bracket Thin washer and rubber washer crushed into the slot of the bracket Thin washers all looked like this All the rubber washers were destroyed by being smashed into the slot I’m just a consumer, not an engineer, but it seems to me that when these were mounted at the factory it would have made a lot more sense to use the thick stainless washer in the front to span the angled opening on the bracket without warping and damaging the rubber washer. I put the thin one in the back where it rests flat against the mounting surface. I replaced the damaged washers and rubber spacers and did use the thicker washers in the front of the mount when I did the work. I’m pretty sure the reason these came loose was due to the thin washers caving in to the slots of the mount when they were installed. I’m sure someone has more experience with these PP mounts than I do so I’m asking for clarification on why the thicker washers were placed in the back of the mounts. Also I suppose this should become an every 6 month check while I’m doing other service checks on the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEM Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 I remember when Mike at Master Repair installed my PP, he made a point to tell me they drilled a hole for another bolt as shown in the picture, and I suspect the reason was to prevent what happened to you. It does seem like he mentioned to prevent movement or looseness. They install so much of this stuff, like PP’s, trolling motors and such, they seem to know all the tricks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobey1 Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 I had mine come loose at the jack plate. I started checking them every now and then after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 The rubber washer is probably to prevent the stainless bolt from contacting the aluminum (galvanic corrosion) and/or powder coated finish (just to keep from damaging it). I'd replace the rubber washers with Teflon washers. As you saw, rubber will just tear up given time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhinshoreangler Posted November 30, 2018 Report Share Posted November 30, 2018 Contact Power Pole, they might have a rebuild kit with new washers. Power Pole has been very helpful over the years with me rebuilding the joints and hydraulic lines on my Power Pole. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tall Tails Posted November 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2018 23 hours ago, Dustin said: The rubber washer is probably to prevent the stainless bolt from contacting the aluminum (galvanic corrosion) and/or powder coated finish (just to keep from damaging it). I'd replace the rubber washers with Teflon washers. As you saw, rubber will just tear up given time. That was my thinking as well. I found neoprene washers. They seem a bit sturdier. If these fail I will go the teflon route. Had I thought of teflon while at the hardware store I would have gotten them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNOTNOW Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 Was wondering if anyone has had any problem with corrosion getting under the powder coating on there Power Pole and if so is it covered under warranty? I have 2 10ft Blades on my 2015 Pathfinder 2400trs both have corrosion on the base and on the blades where the stainless bolts are. I hose and wash down the boat after every outing including the Power Poles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted December 2, 2018 Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 On 11/30/2018 at 8:46 PM, KNOTNOW said: Was wondering if anyone has had any problem with corrosion getting under the powder coating on there Power Pole and if so is it covered under warranty? I have 2 10ft Blades on my 2015 Pathfinder 2400trs both have corrosion on the base and on the blades where the stainless bolts are. I hose and wash down the boat after every outing including the Power Poles. Had that issue on my 2014. Power pole had a paint issue and they took care of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWilson Posted December 3, 2018 Report Share Posted December 3, 2018 On 11/28/2018 at 8:22 PM, JEM said: I remember when Mike at Master Repair installed my PP, he made a point to tell me they drilled a hole for another bolt as shown in the picture, and I suspect the reason was to prevent what happened to you. It does seem like he mentioned to prevent movement or looseness. They install so much of this stuff, like PP’s, trolling motors and such, they seem to know all the tricks! That's exactly why Mike does it. Slotted holes allow the poles to move; the 5th bolt prevents that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowerPoleTech Posted December 3, 2018 Report Share Posted December 3, 2018 Looks like the assembly was just installed backwards with an unnecessary washer... You are correct that the heavy washer should be on the back side against the adapter plate, under the bolt head. The lock nut should be against the stainless stern bracket attached to the Power-Pole anchor. No need for the rubber backed washer on the 10' Blades. That washer is for other models with a powder coated stern bracket to protect the paint. You have all of the hardware there to correct it, simply place the heavy washer on the back side and re-tighten. If you need new lock nuts, I'd be glad to send you some new ones. Send me an email to branden@power-pole.com with your shipping address and I can get some headed your way. As good practice, it is good to check these bolts once per year, but when assembled correctly they should not loosen up on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slyshon Posted December 3, 2018 Report Share Posted December 3, 2018 Thanks Brandon... More from our OEM PP rep Blake: As for the extra hole, there is no such thing. The guy posting about the extra hole is claiming his installer drills an extra hole to prevent the pole from moving. This is not factory and definitely not something we recommend. Best regards, Blake Hill JL Marine Systems, Inc. 9010 Palm River Road Tampa, Florida 33619 P: 813-689-9932 Ext. 2074 F: 813-689-8883 Blake@Power-Pole.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEM Posted December 4, 2018 Report Share Posted December 4, 2018 3 hours ago, slyshon said: Thanks Brandon... More from our OEM PP rep Blake: As for the extra hole, there is no such thing. The guy posting about the extra hole is claiming his installer drills an extra hole to prevent the pole from moving. This is not factory and definitely not something we recommend. Best regards, Blake Hill JL Marine Systems, Inc. 9010 Palm River Road Tampa, Florida 33619 P: 813-689-9932 Ext. 2074 F: 813-689-8883 Blake@Power-Pole.com Since this post is apparently referring to my post, I thought I would clear up some apparent inaccuracies about what I said. 1. With all due respect to Rep. Blake when he said there is “no such thing,” that is not correct with my install. See No. 2. 2. I am not only “claiming,” but in fact, my installer did absolutely drill an extra hole for his stated reason to prevent movement of the PP. I did not express an opinion on whether it corrected a problem or whether there is a problem. 3. I never stated that the extra hole was “factory” or whether or not the factory recommended it. I don’t think any reasonable person would or could infer either from my post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slyshon Posted December 4, 2018 Report Share Posted December 4, 2018 In the OP's case, after looking a little closer we did install the washer on the wrong side of the bracket. Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWilson Posted December 4, 2018 Report Share Posted December 4, 2018 18 hours ago, JEM said: Since this post is apparently referring to my post, I thought I would clear up some apparent inaccuracies about what I said. 1. With all due respect to Rep. Blake when he said there is “no such thing,” that is not correct with my install. See No. 2. 2. I am not only “claiming,” but in fact, my installer did absolutely drill an extra hole for his stated reason to prevent movement of the PP. I did not express an opinion on whether it corrected a problem or whether there is a problem. 3. I never stated that the extra hole was “factory” or whether or not the factory recommended it. I don’t think any reasonable person would or could infer either from my post. JEM, We use the same rigger. As many people use him also; there is a reason for that; he's the best... Brandon and Blake, First, I have the utmost respect for you guys and John. You have the best product in the market place and the best customer service, bar none! This is why I have always rigged Power Poles on our boats! Ok, I know a little bit about stuffing bolts in holes, maybe not in the marine industry but bolts are bolts and tension is tension. When you have solid round holes, in a bolt pattern (power pole mount itself) and you thru bolt on the jack plate bracket (as in my application), with slotted holes, no matter how much tension (not torque) you put on the bolt assembly, there will still be some slip. This slip intensifies when the faying surfaces are coated; in this case powder coating. Adding a simple bolt, with what we call a "hard hole" (no slot) will keep the connection from slipping. There really isn't much load on the 5th bolt, its just there to keep the mount (power pole) from moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEM Posted December 4, 2018 Report Share Posted December 4, 2018 And I didn't say it earlier, but I'm pretty sure Mike did it because he installed so many PP's, that came back in loose or shifted on the bracket. So, to keep them from coming back in to his shop, he started adding a 5th bolt to the mount. And apparently, that did the trick! Nothing more complicated, underhanded, or devious than that! Mike tried his darndest to talk me into 2 PP's, but initially, I didn't even want one. I let him talk me into putting one 10' PP on. My area of fishing is usually anchoring in 6 - 10' and fishing to 2 - 4.' For example, this past Saturday, I caught a limit of trout by myself around high tide in a couple of hours of fishing. But I was fishing 6' down to catch them, and the boat was probably anchored down with the Ulterra in 12.' So, I rarely even use the PP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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