[Alberg30] Additional Info on Mast step

[Mpete53 at aol.com]

Joe

After we looked at your step last night, I started to think about mine.

Today I went to the yard and sure enough one of the 4 hold down on my step 
was not set in correctly. Since I have the mast still down I took the plunge, 
it is now off and in the basement.

What I found.

There are 6  3/8 x 1 flat head stainless bolts holding the step onto the 
deck. These bolts are threaded directly into the fiberglass of the cabin top. 
There is NO metal backing plate that I can find.

The bolts came out easier than I had expected. I used the largest screw 
driver that I had (it saw still way to small to correctly fit the slot) 
fitted with a wrench for additional leverage. The bolts turned out with a 
fair amount of effort, but the poorly fitted screw driver never jumped out. 
One of the bolts turned but didn't back out. the threads in the fiberglass 
must have been striped. I figure that I will drill this one out and create 
new threads using the West System since almost all the force is sideways.

The bedding compound that had been used 27 years age to mount the step was 
not holding a thing. Once the bolts were out I just lifted the plate off. 
There was a fair amount of corrosion buildup between the plate and the deck 
that will need to be addressed but nothing major.

The bolt wholes that Joe is having trouble with go clear though the lower 
plate. Although mine seamed shallower, that was due to the bedding compound 
used to bed the plate coming up though the holes.

Mark       585  Jocelyn
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