Replacing Head Mate on CD 27

[jneely]

I am going to replace the Wilcox Crittendon Head Mate head on my CD 27 with the exact same model. It looks like a pretty straight forward affair. However, I have a question about the three machine screws that hold the head in place. I removed one today just to see what I was dealing with. The screw came out easily and went back in with no apparent problem. I do have one question, however. What is it underneath the cabin sole that these screws are threaded into? Will the others come out and go in as easily as the first or will I somehow have to get access to the underside of the head platform in order to secure the screws? I can change a water pump and do some other low skill jobs on the boat, but I am a complete mechanical klutz, so please keep all explanations simple. By the way, is the CD 27 a great boat or what?

[Kurt]

What year is your boat? Cape Dory changed things from year to year. My CD27 (hull #167) has the head mounted with (4) 1/4" lag bolts that screw into what I believe to be a piece of plywood that was molded into the fiberglass hull liner.

[jneely]

Thanks for the reply, Kurt. My boat is a 1977. Did you have any trouble getting the bolts back in? The fastener that I removed did not have threads like a lag bolt. It looked more like a machine screw.