Removal of a toe rail screw

[FlimFlamII]

Does anyone have an idea on how to remove the forward screw in the attached photo? The screws are not through hull, they are screwed into the toe rail. The problem is that there is a through hull screw under the plate that is not sealed and water is leaking into the boat.

I went to the local marina and they were no help... They like BIG power boats...

 

[Benny17441]

For some reason cannot enlarge the photo to see what screw you are referring to. You may describe the problem as to why the screw is not coming out. Hard to reach, stripped head, just too tight? I have used right angle screw drivers, cut off the heads of screws, drilled them out and busted them but the solution depends on the situation.

 

[FlimFlamII]

For some reason cannot enlarge the photo to see what screw you are referring to. You may describe the problem as to why the screw is not coming out. Hard to reach, stripped head, just too tight? I have used right angle screw drivers, cut off the heads of screws, drilled them out and busted them but the solution depends on the situation.

It's the forward screw under the angle bar. The problem is good access to the head plus the screws are in very tight. I can't figure out how they got them in to begin with.

 

[Boomer54]

Offset screwdriver should be the ticket.

 

[Benny17441]

Try an offset or right angle screw driver but if you see it is too tight you may have to cut the head off with a grinder and then drill a hole in the center of the screw until the weakened walls can be collapsed. First try hammering on the screw head as sometimes it will help them to break the lock. Try also a pair of pressure pliers which may deform the head but give you grip and leverage to turn the screw. You can find a replacement for the screw just try not to mess up the threads on the toe rail. In the past I have found that inserting a length of pipe over the closed handles of a pressure plier provide huge leverage. If the threads are badly rusted the screw head might snap requiring the use of a drill. Good luck.