St. Augustine
Crikey. Yesterday's struggle with the windlass continues.
We made zero progress on the offending screw despite a full day's effort -- mostly by Chip.
I removed the platform to give Chip more room and to get the drill to fit under the casing. Then I left on the 1.5-mile trek to the laundromat, followed by the 1-mile trek to the grocery store for another provisioning run.
Meanwhile Chip tried several Grabit bits to get the thing out of there. They grabbed and then let go.
Merde.
The only option left from below is to drill it all the way out in this position:
Tomorrow we try to disassemble the windlass from above deck.
This is how sailors learn to curse.
Crikey. Yesterday's struggle with the windlass continues.
We made zero progress on the offending screw despite a full day's effort -- mostly by Chip.
I removed the platform to give Chip more room and to get the drill to fit under the casing. Then I left on the 1.5-mile trek to the laundromat, followed by the 1-mile trek to the grocery store for another provisioning run.
 |
| That's the platform leaning on the left. Bigger than the door. |
Merde.
The only option left from below is to drill it all the way out in this position:
Tomorrow we try to disassemble the windlass from above deck.
This is how sailors learn to curse.
We actually have had this problem on our 74' seafarer. When we decided to take everything off our deck to repaint it meant removing 40 year old nuts and bolts. Needless to say way too many were corroded and we were in the same predicament as you. We found the easiest way was to use a dremel and a cutting tool to cut the nut off. This allowed us to not damage the fiberglass by drilling the bolt out. It also fits in smaller spaces than a drill. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteHi Kelley! I'm so sorry you had this problem as well. :-( Unfortunately our offending screw is not a bolt and does not have a nut (other than us). It is embedded in the metal casing and is countersunk, so there is no opportunity for cutting anything. Argh. We have taken a different tack. See Day Three. And yet another one today ... Stay tuned!!! Thanks for checking in.
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