A question for anyone who has ever rebedded their coach roof grab
rails. I'm new to my Vega and haven't had to do this yet, but on my last
sail a big pull was put on one of the grab rails, pulling it loose at
two of its mounting points. Obviously the screw or bolts to this grab
rail come up through the grab rails inside the main cabin, and my
attempt to tighten the screw/bolt heads from below showed the threads
are stripped in the upper rail.
I should have pulled the rail off then and there but didn't have time,
and now I'm preparing to do the job when I get out to my mooring this
weekend. Here's my question (assuming this is a standard Vega rail
configuration): are they screws threaded into the wood of the top rail,
or bolts that thread through a nut somehow embedded within the top rail?
If screws, I'd rather not drill out the inner rail and the hole through
the roof just to use a slightly larger screw to thread into the wood
around the upper rail hole. I'm assuming the best thing is to fill in
the stripped hole in the upper rail with the appropriate product and
then use the same screws. So I'm debating whether to use something like
epoxy that will harden but perhaps be brittle when the screws are later
tightened--or something like the famous marine bond 5200 that will stay
flexible but maybe too flexible for screwing tight, or maybe even a wood
putty that hardens before being reattached. Actually that's a second
question: not only what product is best, but also should that product be
allowed to set up inside the old hole before the screw is tightened
down, or should I drive the screw before it sets? (And if it's not a
screw but a bolt and there's a nut loose inside the wood, then what
product is best?)
Thanks in advance for all advice!
rails. I'm new to my Vega and haven't had to do this yet, but on my last
sail a big pull was put on one of the grab rails, pulling it loose at
two of its mounting points. Obviously the screw or bolts to this grab
rail come up through the grab rails inside the main cabin, and my
attempt to tighten the screw/bolt heads from below showed the threads
are stripped in the upper rail.
I should have pulled the rail off then and there but didn't have time,
and now I'm preparing to do the job when I get out to my mooring this
weekend. Here's my question (assuming this is a standard Vega rail
configuration): are they screws threaded into the wood of the top rail,
or bolts that thread through a nut somehow embedded within the top rail?
If screws, I'd rather not drill out the inner rail and the hole through
the roof just to use a slightly larger screw to thread into the wood
around the upper rail hole. I'm assuming the best thing is to fill in
the stripped hole in the upper rail with the appropriate product and
then use the same screws. So I'm debating whether to use something like
epoxy that will harden but perhaps be brittle when the screws are later
tightened--or something like the famous marine bond 5200 that will stay
flexible but maybe too flexible for screwing tight, or maybe even a wood
putty that hardens before being reattached. Actually that's a second
question: not only what product is best, but also should that product be
allowed to set up inside the old hole before the screw is tightened
down, or should I drive the screw before it sets? (And if it's not a
screw but a bolt and there's a nut loose inside the wood, then what
product is best?)
Thanks in advance for all advice!