How to replace eyes on pulpits

[pmbuck]

We have four of these badly corrupted beauties on our boat, two on the pulpit and two on the pushpit, two which the lifelines attach. They do not have any sort of set pin or screw in them.

Do you have any idea how they are affixed or how they were adhered? Are replacements available for a 1" diameter terminal?

Many thanks!

 

[RitSim]

From the corrosion, looks to be aluminum. Perhaps it has a threaded stud on the internal face. If it is Aluminum we know it is not welded. Also good posssibility that the stud is corroded frozen on the inside. You might have to cut off an inch and install an eye similar to one shown below. Is this an original part supplied with the boat?

 

[pmbuck]

Thank you! This is useful. I have NO idea whether it's original or not.

 

[Ron20324]

That one, I think you'd have to cross-drill and add a bolt.

 

[capta]

I believe getting the old one off will be the job. I'd probably just cut it off so I have a smooth surface to center punch the aluminum and keep using bigger drill bits until it crumbles. Simple, but time consuming.

 

[Tom J]

If you have to cut off part of the tube, you can extend the reach of the lifeline with a couple of tangs.

 

[Justin_NSA]

A plumbers pipe cutter should make a nice clean cut.

 

[Ron20324]

how about a big rod through that eye or a big pipe wrench. I found those big bolt cutters that are like the life line crimpers have a bippy on the side that works well to get leverage. Is that railing aluminum?

 

[deltaten]

The bi-metallic scale left once the fittin's removed is tougher than barnacle squeezin's. I've assumed it's aluminum oxide, yanno, the stuff they use to make abrasive/sand paper!?
The remaining s of those fittings look like the cheaper cast zinc variety to me....no offense intended.

 

[sailnoproblem]

The

A plumbers pipe cutter should make a nice clean cut.

Only problem is the pipe cutter crushes the ID and you have to file the lip it creates. I use it for one turn to make a slight groove and then use a hacksaw to make the cut. Just my experience

 

[LloydB]

if it was a wood plug flush with the deck the solution would be apparent so you could use the same method here. First Sawzall the eye off leaving only the insert portion extending out of the SS tube about a 1/4 inch. Now that you have a flat surface to drill into make a series of holes from the edge of SS in a line across the center of the Aluminum eye plug remaining and then cut or drill the webs between the holes so one side of the plug can be compressed and then removed. as writing this it occurred to me that you might first give that eye a solid whack or three towards the tube to break the bond and then just use a dent puller to get it out without any cutting or drilling at all

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I assume this will be stuck in the railing. If you need to pull or unscrew this, I would recommend using a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF as a penetrating oil. Works much better than PB Blaster. If pulling, a slide hammer (free rental at many auto parts stores) would work well so long as you tie a line as extra support so it's not stressing the rest of the railing. If unscrewing, I would try a screwdriver, adjustable wrench or a pipe wrench with flat jaws

The Only problem is the pipe cutter crushes the ID and you have to file the lip it creates. I use it for one turn to make a slight groove and then use a hacksaw to make the cut. Just my experience

If you go slowly and turn the knob little by little it doesnt reduce it by much. I would also put some masking tape over the area to avoid marks from the rollers. They're usually very light marks

 

[dLj]

On the big rectangular plate to the right in this photo, I'd see if I could open it up. That piece looks like it may be able to be taken apart. You may discover that the fixation for that eye is actually inside that plate. Before I started cutting things up, I'd see if that tube and eye actually just came out of that plate together. It may give you better insight into how the tube and eye went together, and how they stay connected to that plate. I can't see the whole plate, so not sure if this is able to be done easily or not.

dj