Sounds like a do-able fix. I have a couple of questions, however: 1. I assume you routed down to the aluminum plate, and then drilled through the plate, but did you cut off the bolt flush with the plate first, and if so, how? 2. My boat has a bulkhead between the access port and the transom. Did you cut through that with jig saw or large hole saw to enable using nuts on the back side of the aluminum plate? And would locknuts be the call in this situation?
Peter