How do you remove the end cap of the boom?

[Mike]

The main sheet on my O'day 23 is attached to the cap at the end of the boom. A large bolt is affixed dead center of the end cap, and holds a 6"x1" oblong metal plate. The mainsheet is attached to the other end of the plate. The problem I have is that the bolt attaching the plate to the boom is loose; it does not appear to be self-tapping, as turning the bolt has no effect. It looks like I need to access inside the boom to hold what I assume to be a nut in order to tighten the bolt. However, the end cap is riveted to the boom and does not appear to be removable. Any ideas on how to approach this problem?

 

[Mike Basham]

It's Really OK!

I have a 1972 23', and I was worried about that lose bolt too when I got it about a year and a half ago. I decided that it needed tightening, so I drilled out the rivets holding the end plate and tightened it. As it turned out, there is a self-locking nut on the end of the bolt, and the whole thing is meant to pivot, so you can pull the boom out and roll the main around it to reef it. As long as you don't add a boom vang, as I did! So, you really don't have to worry about it. By the way, to put it back together, I decided not to go back with rivets, so I tapped/threaded the holes in the plate and put in some stainless steel machine screws. Hope this helps, and good luck!