Ok I got 6 Reinforcements plates for one of my H18 was going to put 4 on the front cross bar and the other 2 on the shrouds. For the anchor pins do you use nuts like the cross bar or reuse the anchor bars ? if the anchor bars stiffen the plates up that much what about using them on the outside of the front cross bar ? or do they need the flex ? how were the newer boats setup from the factory with reinforcements

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You can just use nuts for the shrouds but if the nut doesnt fit right then just use the bars. All the H18s I'm around just have nuts. BTW we are adding rear anchor plates to our boats as well as we recently had a rear beam pull off the rear lip. It's usually the front beam that fails but the rear needs extra support too.

Nuts are fine for the anchor bolts and crossbar bolts - no need to use an anchor bar. You couldn’t use the anchor bars under the front crossbars even if you wanted to. The anchor bars are threaded 5/16-18 and the crossbar bolts are 3/8-16.

I would check the hulls before adding the updated plates to the rear crossbar. Most boats probably don’t need them. The ‘84 - ‘86 boats had the problem hulls. Look up under the hull flange. If there are cracks worse than superficial gelcoat cracks, then add them in the rear. Otherewise, it’s probably overkill. It can be difficult to get the brackets to fit into the rear pockets and you will have to cut in rear access ports, so may not be worth the effort.

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Thanks that is what I was thinking at first but some times over think / build things
I probably don't need the plates but just want to make sure

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You couldn’t use the anchor bars under the front crossbars even if you wanted to. The anchor bars are threaded 5/16-18 and the crossbar bolts are 3/8-16.

sure I can I still have a Bridgeport and lathe I can fit the square peg in the round hole with ease ... LOL
I was going to make my own out of 1/2x1/2 316 stock if needed but a nut is lighter and easier
Thanks again

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1/2 x 1/2 stock (or round bar) would only leave 1/16” wall thickness after tapping for the 3/8” dia bolt, so I think it would still be a problem. Or at least, not provide any additional strength over the nut.

One thing you can do is purchase “extra wide” nuts. They are beefier than a standard hex nut and the extra width also prevents them from turning inside the anchor plate, so you can tighten the crossbar bolts more easily since you don’t need to hold the nut with a pair of vice grips to prevent it from spinning. Install with blue loctite so they don’t loosen up.

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