Last year the boat was shrink wrapped too tight and the stanchions got bent over so much it popped bolt heads off. Now I have two bolts broken off flush with deck. I was able to drill one enough to break it lose and could use needle nose pliers to get out. The other is stuck good. Have tried drilling it out, even bought speed out from stupid TV commercial and nothing budged. Can not get from inside cabin either. My last resort is to rout out around the bolt and get a good grip, hopefully. Scared to do this because do not want to ruin the hole potentially. Any good ideas?
Remove deck bolt
- Thread starter bigsick
- Start date
The screws are tapped into a small piece of aluminum that is encapsulated in the deck layup. So you don't have to worry about digging out the glass around the screw; it's the aluminum that's important.
I'll bet the stainless screw corroded and is bonded to the aluminum
I'll bet the stainless screw corroded and is bonded to the aluminum
the good news is, you have options.... the bad news is, neither one is going to be fun.
I think routing around the bolt may be your best option... you NEED to be able to get a bite on it with something, then patience and penetrating oil, working it a very little bit at a time until you wear out the corrosion...
there is another cleaner, less invasive option, but you may not have the skills or resources to do it.... but you could have it done by an expert welder, (NOT a hobbist who thinks he is a welder)...
there is a welding rod called MG 600....after protecting the deck with a plywood template that has a hole cut to access the broken bolt, you place a very small pipe around the broken bolt to contain the weld deposit.
then you stick the MG600 electrode in the hole contacting the broken bolt.... it will weld a new bolt shank with a tensile strength approaching 180,000psi... it happens quickly so you have to work quickly.
it will heat the existing bolt enough that it will free the threads from the corrosion allowing you to unscrew it by gripping the newly added extension... ive done this procedure many times, and its not something beginners should try on something as delicate as what you have there...
I think routing around the bolt may be your best option... you NEED to be able to get a bite on it with something, then patience and penetrating oil, working it a very little bit at a time until you wear out the corrosion...
there is another cleaner, less invasive option, but you may not have the skills or resources to do it.... but you could have it done by an expert welder, (NOT a hobbist who thinks he is a welder)...
there is a welding rod called MG 600....after protecting the deck with a plywood template that has a hole cut to access the broken bolt, you place a very small pipe around the broken bolt to contain the weld deposit.
then you stick the MG600 electrode in the hole contacting the broken bolt.... it will weld a new bolt shank with a tensile strength approaching 180,000psi... it happens quickly so you have to work quickly.
it will heat the existing bolt enough that it will free the threads from the corrosion allowing you to unscrew it by gripping the newly added extension... ive done this procedure many times, and its not something beginners should try on something as delicate as what you have there...
One way I've done it is to take a small hole saw, 5/8" is the one I used, remove it's center guide bit, and saw a hole around the bolt. Dig out the material between the bolt and the hole, then you can get bolt extractors, vice grips, whatever on the bolt and work it out. To repair the hole afterwards, take a new bolt, coat it with Vaseline and screw it into the backing plate hole, then fill with epoxy. The Vaseline will let you screw the bolt back out after the epoxy sets. Put anti seize on the new bolts when you put everything back together.
I agree this would make a nice clean cut providing you cut a template from a scrap piece of wood to center firmly over the broken bolt before using a hole saw without a pilot bit....
the hole saw without a pilot bit is an unpredictable thing... it will walk itself around the work piece leaving ugly teeth marks everywhere
Yes, I left that part out. When I did it I had a little sub of the bolt sticking out, just enough to keep the saw from wandering. A plywood template would be better.
Great ideas. Think I will try to rout out deck around the bolt. I have a Dremmel, that may give me more control than a hole saw. Great tip on putting Vaseline on bolt when I fill back with epoxy.