Backstory: I got this 1980 25 mac project for free from a friend who was moving and could no longer use it. To my knowledge, almost everything is there minus a few small parts here and there. The keel had been taken out to be re coated by a previous owner which is great, except I have no clue how to get it back in now.(thats the next big step) Anyway, I noticed the keel winch bolt looked really bad and probably should be replaced while the keels off, so I started working on that first.
My question Today is how to remove/replace the keel cable winch bolt on the keel. I dont have pictures of the before...but what I did so far was grind off the two ends of the bolt and attempt to drill out the old stainless steel bolt on each side. This sort of worked, I was able to drill a decent hole on each side but have not broken thru the middle of the bolt yet and ive already broken two drill bits. Im guessing i didnt drill in perfectly straight and am hitting the keel on the inside of the bolt. Here's what I was planning on replacing it with: http://shop.bwyachts.com/product-p/5302-1k0.htm
Here come the questions:
Is there and easier way to remove this bolt? Would it be easier to try and drill a new hole farther up on the keel or is it always better to use the same spot? Is it possible/better to install a shackle that the cable attaches to rather than a straight bolt like the original? I heard these were originally installed with blue loctite? Is this true? Will I need loctite for the new bolt? Also, the keel has been scratched up some since being re-coated by the previous owner as you can see in the pictures, should I worry about this or is it fine as is?
Any help would be great! Thanks so much
-Adam
My question Today is how to remove/replace the keel cable winch bolt on the keel. I dont have pictures of the before...but what I did so far was grind off the two ends of the bolt and attempt to drill out the old stainless steel bolt on each side. This sort of worked, I was able to drill a decent hole on each side but have not broken thru the middle of the bolt yet and ive already broken two drill bits. Im guessing i didnt drill in perfectly straight and am hitting the keel on the inside of the bolt. Here's what I was planning on replacing it with: http://shop.bwyachts.com/product-p/5302-1k0.htm
Here come the questions:
Is there and easier way to remove this bolt? Would it be easier to try and drill a new hole farther up on the keel or is it always better to use the same spot? Is it possible/better to install a shackle that the cable attaches to rather than a straight bolt like the original? I heard these were originally installed with blue loctite? Is this true? Will I need loctite for the new bolt? Also, the keel has been scratched up some since being re-coated by the previous owner as you can see in the pictures, should I worry about this or is it fine as is?
Any help would be great! Thanks so much
-Adam
