Boom fitting overhaul

[Steve Pope 243]

I need to fit new sheaves to the reefing points on my aluminium boom, to do this the said fittings have to be removed. They are held on with 6 & 8mm metal thread screws / bolts, unfortunately they http://all have locknuts inside the boom that are unable to be reached with either a socket or spanner, the furthest being in the region of

1-1/2m inside the boom. It has been suggested to drill the heads off and then use an easyout to screw whats left of the bolt into the boom. Which I will have to do unless anyone has an easier way to just remove the nut.

[Guest]

Whooo there big fella. If the nuts got put on in there they then must be able to come off from in there.

 

A ring spanner taped to a stick is probably the high tech way they got put on so that would work to get them off. It's knot as hard as you'd think and we commonly did that.

 

Having nuts would suggest the machine screws aren't tapped into the section, which maybe just has 8mm holes in it now. Generally machine screwing on reef cheek blocks is fine so the nuts maybe telling us something. Talking alloy here by the way people.

[Steve Pope 243]

Thanks Grant, I have spoken to John at Sparloft as I thought he may have come across this at some time, allas and allac no such luck, the drilling and easyouting was his suggested solution. I have tracked down the spar maker "Nirvana Spars BV" They were originally in Switzerland, but are now in Holland making super yacht spars, I have emailed them but I imagine their interest in my problems with a spar they built 34 years ago would be well down the list. Still never try, never know!

[wheels 543]

You sure they are not those nuts that have splines on the sides of them and are pulled into the wall section to become a permanent nut?