New to Sunfish

[noand]

I was given a Sunfish, circa 1966, by a friend. Much of the deck hardware was broken and when I took it off, the screws broke inside.
My question is: Do I need to drill those holes out and put the new screws in their place (a lot of work) or can I drill new holes right next to the old ones and put in new screws (much less work).
I didn't know if there was wood directly under those holes to supported the screws or if it was a more general area.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Porpoise2]

I'm facing a similar problem with my '77 Sunfish bow handle. It's presently two gnarly gray zinc stubs with nothing in between to grab onto.

From what I've been reading here, the wood backup pieces can come loose to rattle around inside the hull; in short, keep one or two screws engaged in the wood. Just a little bit of gravity can cause them to drop from the underside of the deck. Then you''ll have an entirely different problem.

Depending on what you see before you, it may not be a bad idea to add one or two new screws just to hold the wood in place.

 

[benebob]

I ran into the same problem with my sailfish when I redid the wood. On the sideboards I drilled new holes and siliconed the old ones. For the bow handle I drilled out the old screw. Not that bad provided you have a good bit and a decent drill.