bolt dropped down pedestal

[dmmlyons]

Hi Folks, I have a 1980 Cherubini H33 in pretty good condition. I was replacing the wood under the compass when I dropped a
bolt down the pedestal. Its a Yacht Specialties Company pedestal. I can see what I think is the bolt on the floor at the bottom of
the pedestal. Reaching up from underneath (1 finger just fits, a little), I can feel there is a lip on the channel the rudder cables come through, so the bolt won't roll out. Its non-magnetic material. It doesn't seem like a good idea to leave it there, it case it jams the rudder
at an inopportune moment - is that reasonable? Any ideas for how I can get this out. I really don't want to take the pedestal off.
many thanks
Damian

 

[Michael Davis]

How about some double sided tape on the end of a stick?

 

[JoeWhite]

Can you reach it with a metal wire coat hanger and see if you can move it over so it drops down from a hole.
Can you make a lasso and put it at the end of a 1/4" wood dowel and pull the string to trap it and pull out.

 

[dmmlyons]

Thanks Michael and Joe - I've been trying this and will continue, but there is so much obstruction in the body of the pedestal - the rudder cables, gear and fuel cables, instrument wires - that its tough to move anything else in there. I haven't tried the lasso. I was wondering about the wisdom of drilling an inspection hole in the base to get it out?

 

[BlowMeAway]

How about a 60” grab easy mechanical pickup tool?

GrabEasy 60 in. Ergonomic Handle, Flexible, 4 Claw Pick-Up Tool, Jewelry Retriever, Clog Remover, Drain Snake in Chrome PF0408

GrabEASY Grabber, Retriever and Pick-up Tool is a unique, reusable, must have tool that helps in a variety of ways. Its 60 in. long flexible design helps lifting items from hard to reach spaces and without

www.homedepot.com

 

[BigEasy]

. I was wondering about the wisdom of drilling an inspection hole in the base to get it out?

That’s what I was thinking, 3/4 to 1” hole should do it. Goes w/o saying, go slow and don’t drill it into anything important, cause you’ll have to disassemble the whole thing! Put a shop vac hose at the hole to suck it out or at least get it in position to grab it with tweezers or small needle nose pliers.

 

[dmax]

I dropped a bolt down the pedestal once and took one of those 3 wire-claw grab tools I had laying around and extended it with some pvc tubing and a dowel to push the button, much like the 60" grab tool mentioned above, and was able to grab the bolt and get it out. You could also try putting a blob of butyl on the end of a long dowel - that stuff is very sticky, if you can get the butyl on the bolt you should be able to bring it up.

 

[dmmlyons]

Thanks for all your replies - I was successful. The secret was to get enough light down the bottom of the pedestal to grab the bolt. I probably could have used any of your good ideas , but I used a 1/4" dowel with a split end that I could use as a passive grabber. Now I gotta get it all back together without dropping anything else!

 

[BlowMeAway]

Thanks for all your replies - I was successful. The secret was to get enough light down the bottom of the pedestal to grab the bolt. I probably could have used any of your good ideas , but I used a 1/4" dowel with a split end that I could use as a passive grabber. Now I gotta get it all back together without dropping anything else!

Well Done!!!
Best of luck in your continued maintenance.

 

[BillyK]

innovative solution!