When the hull was being power washed at the fall haul out, one of the bronze strainers covering a water intake fell off. It appears that all four of the screws that were holding it on had disintegrated and sheared off at the hull line. (They've been there about 15 years.) My question has to do with how to reattach the strainer. Can I leave what's left of the original screws in the hull? Can I just rotate the strainer (it has round holes, not slots so direction is not an issue) and drill new holes in new locations? What kind of screws are needed -- stainless steel or something else? I plan to bed the screws in 5200, and obviously keep them as short as possible.
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Strainer Fastenings
Suspect that the old screw-heads corroded away. You don’t want that kind of activity left there, so I’d try to removed them, and seal the holes /w epoxy. It’s ok if you have to gouge out some more glass around the remaining screw-shafts (to get a grip on them), as that will leave a beveled edge, which helps the epoxy plug get a grip. New screws should be compatible /w strainer. They don’t carry much load, so short is good, and strength of material not much of an issue. If strainer is Bronze, go for Bz screws. Stainless is seldom a good idea under water. Regards, Gord
Suspect that the old screw-heads corroded away. You don’t want that kind of activity left there, so I’d try to removed them, and seal the holes /w epoxy. It’s ok if you have to gouge out some more glass around the remaining screw-shafts (to get a grip on them), as that will leave a beveled edge, which helps the epoxy plug get a grip. New screws should be compatible /w strainer. They don’t carry much load, so short is good, and strength of material not much of an issue. If strainer is Bronze, go for Bz screws. Stainless is seldom a good idea under water. Regards, Gord
Bronze tough to find
Ed, bronze screws are tough to find. I assume the strainer is bronze, so bronze screws are necessary. If it is a round, perforated strainer, then a simpe rotation will be OK. The type of screws to use would be Silicon Bronze. They can be tough to find, but here is a link that may help. These have to be bought in bulk, so ask around first. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com
Ed, bronze screws are tough to find. I assume the strainer is bronze, so bronze screws are necessary. If it is a round, perforated strainer, then a simpe rotation will be OK. The type of screws to use would be Silicon Bronze. They can be tough to find, but here is a link that may help. These have to be bought in bulk, so ask around first. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com
Bz also available
Silicone Bronze fastenings are available in unit quantities from WEST Marine, and almost any good hardware store. Electrical distributers sell them as "Durium" (trade name). Leaving old fastenings in place, especially underwater, is a recipe for future problems. Please remove the broken screws. Gord
Silicone Bronze fastenings are available in unit quantities from WEST Marine, and almost any good hardware store. Electrical distributers sell them as "Durium" (trade name). Leaving old fastenings in place, especially underwater, is a recipe for future problems. Please remove the broken screws. Gord
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