Boom Rivets and Transom Drain Plug

laserchris

New Member
Hi all, need some advice about 2 things................. I have noticed that the mainsheet blocks on my boom are only just hanging on, the rivets are very loose so need to be changed. I noticed that the holes, especially at the stern end of the boom are badly corroded. Will I just be able to put some new rivets of the same size in or should I go oversize????

Second thing, I have to change the transom drain plug but when i came to screw the new female part in the screws didnt tighten, I have tried filling the holes with epoxy (araldite) but this didnt work. Can I just put some oversize screws in?? If so how would I go about doing this, not sure if I'd need to fill then redrill holes to suit bigger screws?

I just want to sail before the great british summer is over!!!!!!
 
Hi,

I had the same problem. Bigger rivets (4.8 is too small and 6.4 too big) do not solve the problem but bolts and nuts (M5) do the job. You have to loosen the outhaul eye and the gooseneck plug - normally you will need a new outhaul eye.

Good luck,
Matt
 
Through-bolt the mainsheet blocks - much stronger that way.

Best fix for the drain plug is to oversize drill the hole, fill with epoxy (West System), drill, and put a screw in. You can go on West's site for instructions on how to do this - really quite easy.
 
May sound like a stupid question but do you mean bolt through the whole boom ie drill holes in top of boom aswell and then have bolts run right through or do you mean only use existing holes?

Also, the forward block rivets need changing I think I will have to drill right through the boom as access from the end of the boom will be difficult. Any thoughts??

Thanks for your help,

Chris
 
No, don't drill through the entire boom - bolt only to the bottom side, using the existing holes.

Do a search - there are plenty of threads talking about how to through-bolt the center mainsheet block. Tedious, but not difficult.
 
Oversize, Last summer my rivets ripped out and I couldn't afford a new boom so I cleaned up the holes and went with a much bigger rivet (got them from a mechanic friend they were for riveting door panels on). It has held up great so far after a busy year of sailing.

The screws won't be the only thing holding it on, For the screws try wedging a small piece of plastic in the hole while you're screwing it in, it should give the screw some bite. Put a good amount of silicone around the edge and when it dries that should hold it in nicely. If for some reason that doesn't work you could get some plastic anchors like the ones used on the autobailer screw (will probably require making the hole a touch bigger). Most of the marine silicones will hold pretty well.
 
About 18 months ago, I posted a bunch of picks on how to through-bolt the padeyes. I also added a couple of twists to the conventional method.

1. I used a fender washer on the inside. However, before you can do this you have to bend it to match the arc of the inside diameter of the boom.

2. I also found paper-thin mylar washers at a hardware store and put them between the padeye and the boom. This insultated the aluminum from the stainless steel and hopefuly will reduce the galvanic corrosion.

Regardless of what you do, us A LOT of Lanocote. This will help with the galvanic corrosion.
 
Thanks for all of your advice, boom is now sorted and a new transom plug fitted. Just need to try to sail it properly now.....................!
 

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