Replacing mainsheet traveler track

[ckreitlein]

I want to replace my original main sheet traveler rig. GARHAUER has what I want, but wants me to sent them the track so they can bend a new one to match. I can't get the screws out. Any ideas? I have tried penetrating oil and an impact screwdriver with no luck. Short of drilling off the screw heads is there an alternative?

[jepomer]

The traveler on my CD25 is bolted through (as are all of the hardware). You will need to get behind the mounting area. I did drill out several bolts knowing that I was going to replace them.

Good Luck...

[bottomscraper]

Is it mounted on a bridge across the sliding hatch? If yes there
are nuts on the inside of the square tube. You must remove at
least one end of the bridge to access the nuts. On Mahalo the
ends of the bridge were screwed into aluminum plates that
have tapped holes. I used a ratchet with a screw driver socket
and a long extension to remove the screws. I did soak them
in Kroil for a few days.

I made an extra long wrench to access the nuts on the inside
of the tube. I used a normal short box wrench and a 2ft long
piece of EMT*. I squeezed the tube down in a vise to hold the
wrench in place. Getting the extra long wrench on the nuts was
a lot of trial an error but persistance won the battle.

* EMT - Electrical metallic tubing aka thinwall

[Steve Laume]

Getting the bolts out seems like the easy part. Who did the reinstall go?

I suppose once you have the whole thing on a bench and can take your time with each bolt it might not lead you to drink.

A similar arrangement with a ratcheted socket might even work better. At least the nuts would be held captive, Steve.

[bottomscraper]

Getting the bolts out seems like the easy part. Who did the reinstall go?

I used the same long wrench and some anhydrous lanolin (very
thick sticky stuff) to hold the nut and flat washer in the wrench.
This again took some patience, a virtue that I don't always have.

Anhydrouse lanolin is good stuff to have on your boat, it's the
perfect lubricant for your turnbuckles. I got a 1lb jar at my local
pharmacy about 10 years ago for about $10. It's a lifetime
supply. It was a special order thing. It looks like you can buy
it online from hobby soap making suppliers.

Here is one link, never did business with them so use
at your own risk...

http://www.nuscentscandle.com/LNOLN.html