Tightening Fasteners

Hello
I went all over my 1987 mod one back in June and tightened all the fasteners up before it's first sail. Since then I've probably had it out less than 15 hours b/c of our typically crummy Florida summer weather and some back trouble, but was surprised to find that alot of the fasteners had become a bit loose. Nothing close to failing, but loose enough to be concerning.

Most of the sailing I've done with it has been on days with gusts up to around 20 and I did manage to capsize it once, but I'm wondering if this is something other owners have encountered, and what you may have done to moderate this.

jim / so. fla. / 1857 / toshita
 
Jim, ..... those screw holes on your "87" must have seen many more hours of sport sailing than my "92" which is still practically new in terms of use. But thanks for the "heads up", my screws will be getting a dab of tread-lock of some sort the next time I service them.
 
Threadlocker blues

Yes, I think the age of my boat is the reason, and I also used cheap threadlocker from Harbor Freight rather than the brand name variety. It was always good enough for my bicycles but on the jib cleats and the oarlock sockets I made out of my old jib sliders it just didn't hold.

I guess maybe the nylock nuts on the rudder bolts and pad eyes are just getting old. New ones take alot more force to tighten down than aged versions and my boat is 23 years old.

I was especially surprised that the bolts holding the maststep had loosened up, and I'm wary of over-tightening them since they go all the way through and I could wind up compressing and cracking the cored deck there. I'm wondering if I should replace those bolts with screws to limit damage in a de-masting as has been suggested in other posts.

Thankfully the screws on the sidestay plates were still tight -- that's my nightmare scenario: the mast cracking off.

I was just surprised that things loosened after that relatively short amount of use; gonna have to check stuff out after every sail, which is probably just the smart move, anyway.

jim / so. fla. / 1857 / toshita
 
Threadlock Blues

Jim,

I have redone my SJ21 and other Cat 22 & 25 boats by using a nail bent with a 90 degree angle, and inserting it in a deck screw hole and ream out the core with a portable drill on slow speed. Then inject some West System Epoxy into the hole and after it hardens, redrill a new hole. If you are drilling completely thru the deck, put some masking tape on the lower side to hold the epoxy. This will eliminate the damage done by the original hole being worn out, and strengthens the hole too. It is time consuming, but when finished, you will have a basically new hole. Just a thought.
 
tip

Ron --

Thanks for the tip on re-bedding the holes, I may need it on the maststep area. Will depend on what type and condition of core is under there when I get to this after monsoon season lets up in a month or two.

jim
 
Rebedding

Just go by West System instructions. This is a fool proof method of doing fiberglas that I have done for many years. Good luck!!!!
 

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