Do that and when hot spray lubricant and work the screw back and forth while spraying. Don’t force it just back and forth. That will allow the lubricant to work the threads
Can’t Remove Screw in Mast
- Thread starter surfstud31
- Start date
Doug,
Would that be the aluminum toe rail blocks for the jib furler?
Seems that everyone has that problem on their Beneteau's. I was able to remove mine, after soaking with PB Blast and cutting slot in the head, then removing with straight blade screw driver. According to King, he recommends a vinegar and water solution to dissolve corrosion products that are seizing the SS screw & aluminum. He further states that PB is only good for dissolving rust. Its worth a shot to try his recommendation. I am not an advocate of heating the mast; would prefer to drill out the seized screw if vinegar solution & impact driver doesn't work.
I was able to get the in-haul line out that the screw held in place. I’ll try heat to remove the screw but if that fails then I’m going to just devise a way to tie in the new rope and just leave the darn screw the way it is. It’s definitely not going anywhere. It only has to hold the in-haul line so that it doesn’t fall out of the mast when the sail is pulled all the way in. I have some 2mm Robline that I can just tie to the new inhaul line and then tie the Robline to the screw. If I can get that to work then it makes removing the screw a moot point. Yeah, I’d really like to do it the right way but at this point I don’t think I can get the screw out without destroying it. The screw head is fairly mangled now and can only be salvaged by cutting a new groove or grooves with a Dremel. I’ve been at this for 3 days and it is the only thing holding me up from getting the new mainsail in so I can actually go sailing. It’s just bizarre because the screw itself looks fine inside the mast - can’t see any rust or corrosion on it. But it’s obviously fused in the threads and going nowhere. When I pull the boat out in the Spring for a bottom paint I’ll have the boat yard see if they can get it out.
You'll be glad to have one, I use mine often. Even on screws that aren't stuck, it's the only driver I have with bits that big. I just use it like a regular screwdriver. (It's the kind you hit with a hammer, not powered.)
The impact driver is great - it’s the only thing that got the screw to move at all. It’s a great tool to have, no doubt about it.
I put the new furling line in. I wedged the line in as best I could behind the screw, tied it to some Robline and made a big knot of the Robline on the other side of the screw. Im going to wedge it in with something or maybe use a touch of construction adhesive to further secure it.
When I took the old sail down I noticed that the furling line still had a loop or two in the drum above it when the sail was fully out. So most the stress goes on the loops of the drum and not the end of the line. But we’ll see, I may secure it differently yet.
When I took the old sail down I noticed that the furling line still had a loop or two in the drum above it when the sail was fully out. So most the stress goes on the loops of the drum and not the end of the line. But we’ll see, I may secure it differently yet.
Not on the boat, its an adjustment block for the blade guide on my bandsaw. A hardened allen head set screw buried in the aluminum with half the socket broken away...
Sorry about the hijack, back to the original topic. I have the toe rail issue as well.
The trick is to use heat and beeswax. Beeswax can be bought at hardware and marine stores and has thousands of uses. Heat screws with a torch and then touch the beeswax to the screws. The trick is to heat the screws add some wax and then use heat add more wax. That way you don't have to overheat anything. The wax will penetrate much deaper the PB or any petroleum based penetrant. Look up using beeswax to remove rusty bolts on YouTube for more info. This works great on aluminum and stainless hardware.. I used this process on my c-22 mast to remove stuck screws and the Clevis pins in the mast head. It worked great no damage to the mast, masthead or the pins. Pins were original from 1974 and very stuck! A small hammer beeswax and a mapp gas torch was all that was needed. Then use Marelube Tef-45 to keep them from corroding on reassembly. You can find Marelube at west marine or Catalina Direct. You don't use much so a small sysringe goes a long way.
There's a test that was done by a machinist's magazine about the best penetrating oils. I had a difficult to replace carb with a brass or bronze part that for the life of me, I could not get out. I tried the usual wd-40, PB blaster, etc. Every time I gave it another go it damaged the part a little more. So I finally made the concoction they recommended - ATF and Acetone mixed 1:1! I put some into a spray bottle, mixed it up and sprayed it about six times throughout the day. I thought there wasnt a chance in hell it would come out that soon but I gave it a go and out it came! I had been trying to get this thing out for the past two weeks! In less than ten hours it came out with this mixture! I was shocked!
Here's the test results from Machinist Workshop
None ...................... 516 pounds
WD-40 ................... 238 pounds
PB Blaster .............. 214 pounds
Liquid Wrench ...... 127 pounds
Kano Kroil ............. 106 pounds
ATF-Acetone mix....53 pounds