You are correct that you cannot use a the typical rivet gun to install stanless steel rivets.
Youi cut the spar in half to push the endcap out?
While I did not cut my boom in half, I will agree that it was a lot of trouble to remove. Various mechanical means such as using pliers, drills and jig saws proved worthless. I ended up using a small blow torch and melting it off.
Youi cut the spar in half to push the endcap out?
Thought I would add my experiences to the conversation. I have an '82 hull and recently upgraded my vang to 15:1. After reading a few more blogs I decided it was worth adding a boom sleeve too (much cheaper than replacing a broken boom). In summary, it was reasonably easy and took about 1/2 hour. Oddly enough the hardest part was taking out the old Gooseneck plug. My boom clearly bends less when vanging on block2block. Someone in another blog
mentioned reversing the upper mast as well. Have to think about that one a bit more...
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I've read through this entire thread, hoping to find clear (and definitive) instructions on how to install a sleeve on my 1976 boom. I want to thank Don S for taking the time to post these instructions that will help me upgrade my boom.