I found one pair of the bolts that hold the thwarts to the seats sheared off recently. I can't account for any particular reason why this would have happened. Possibly, an impact to the side of the boat could stress them, but I can't recall a recent incident. Is that something that has happened to others?
Also, one of the bolts looks bright yellow where it's sheared off, which to me would seem to indicate that it was made from chromed brass rather than SS. I have seen fittings that are made from that, but never screws (and none of the local stores stock anything like that). Anybody come across anything like that? (They are wood screws with oval heads - they are used with special washers that are contoured to fill the gap between the board and the screw's head - forgotten what they are called).