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All,
I am new to the forum, and boating in general. I inherited a 1986 Horizon 170 from my parents and decided to refinish it myself as oxidation was terrible. To make it easier, I removed the external hardware. The cleats in the back, and the side rails went back on fine because I had access to the underside bolts, but the two cleats in the front are a problem. I cannot get underneath the cleat to install the bolts back on, as there is no open access. I am not even sure if there was a plate there, but pretty confident the bolts dropped down when I first removed them. This is all original. Before I cut anything on the inside, I was looking for you opinions on what you would do.

Can these back cushions be removed? They are attached by screws, but I don't know if the seats cushions can just pop out, and I don't want to damage them. Thank you all.

You might try to move the cushions upward to see if they will come loose. There might be a couple screws on the bottom side of the cushions that you would need to remove first. If you can remove the cushions there might be an access hole, or you could use a hole saw to make an access hole that would be hidden by the re-installed cushion.

_________________
Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

Thanks for the response. I was able to get behind another cushion and noticed a screw right in the middle. Trying to figure out how to get that out.