Donn:
I have mounted Kato Davits and a 9 foot wind machine pole to my teak gunwale area. I simply used large SS round heads or oval heads and screwed these iunto the teak and into the fiberglass under the teak. I drill a small pilot hole and screw it down. The reason I have not thru bolted these is that the bottom of davits and the bottom of a pole, the forces are for and aft, NOT pulling UP. If the force was pulling up, then I would thru bolt and backing plate these areas. I have 15 years of use with these davits simply screwed to the teak, I carry a 10 foot RIB with a 15 Yamaha, guess what? They are still in place and not loose.
My wind machine pole is mounted the exact same way, simply screwed into the teak and it has braces forward and one sideways. So again, the forces on this pole base are lateral not up. So I simply screwed it down. I am a firm believer in the KISS process. This is simple and it works just fine.
Then again, if you want to thru bolt the base, it would not be that big of a deal.
Hayden
