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cfdrews12
06-01-2009, 02:57 PM
Putting the boat back together for the summer and have stripped screws where the gas strut attaches on one of the back Hatch doors. I can only get one of the three backed out and the others are stripped. I'm thinking of cutting off the heads with a dremel but still need the other two out so I can get another screw or bolt in there to hold the strut tight. If not, doesn't stay open and is real flimsy when opening.

I don't want to drill the screws out, fear of going through all the way into foam and possibly out the Vinyl (that would be bad). Any idea's?

Thanks.

cfdrews12
06-01-2009, 05:08 PM
Ed G. You are the man. However, let me lean on you and the group for some more help. One of the screws backed out fine and the vice grips allowed for me to grab and muscle it out. The second one, not so much. I was finally so mad, that I cut the head off with a dremmel tools so I could at least get the hatch off.

So two are better than one, but any words of wisdom on how to get that third one out (drilling) or just do without?

Thanx.

mmandley
06-01-2009, 05:16 PM
Well if ya cut it off then you can only drill the rest of it out. I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe a little silicon over it to keep anything from getting in it.

Just take the left over screws to a hard ware store and get some new ones. I would use 3 screws in the hatch hinge, those struts put a lot of pressure on them.

Sled491
06-01-2009, 08:24 PM
If you drill it out, put some tape on the bit to prevent it from driving all the way through your cushiion. Another option is easy outs. Try some spray such as liquid wrench or WD40 to help. All things considered these things aren't that precise. Grind the screws flat, respray with black and move to a new location possible overlapping the old spot.

cfdrews12
06-02-2009, 12:10 PM
Thanks guys for the input. I'll give it a try this weekend. Tried the lubricant and let it sit all day while at work, must be really stipped in there as nothing and no amount of pulling and twisting will pull out the stud bolt. Probably going to mark my bit so not to go too deep, dill it out, make a larger hole and just insert a bigger diameter screw.

I'll let everyone know how it goes and post a picture of handywork in case someone else comes long with same issues down the road.

cfdrews12
06-03-2009, 11:06 AM
Update:

Dug into this project last night. URRRRRG. Tried installing a little larger bolt (didn't work) so went to a larger diameter screw (didn't work). Not really anything to grab and keep a hold of for the gas shock to grab to and hold tight on. So my wife comes outside and asks in my frustration what all the fuss is about. I go through my whole story, she looks at the holes and mess that I've now created and says simply, why don't you put some metal anchors like you would have to do in a wall to hold heavy objects so the screws will hold. I thought, that will never work, knowing deep down inside that she was onto something.

So I tried the plastic ones first, they held and did a decent job, but I now won't hold up over the summer season, so went to hardware store and found 1 inch metal anchors that fit and worked beautifully. Just wanted to pass on success in case others run into same issue.

Sled491
06-03-2009, 11:48 AM
"From the mouths of Babe's" :)

kaneboats
06-03-2009, 04:45 PM
I do that all the time. Get frustrated and either Mrs. Kane will come up with something my one dimensional brain didn't think of or, while explaining why her idea won't work, it will trigger a thought that will work. Either way she helps every time.

mmandley
06-03-2009, 08:04 PM
Gotta agree my other half does the same thing. She will come and start asking questions about what im doing and start talking about her ideas and generally between her new ideas or me disagreeing with her the solution appears.

Is this why we call them our better half's?

Sled491
06-03-2009, 09:56 PM
Man, you guys better hope my wife/business partner (yep one in the same) doesn't read this stuff or I'll be toast for the rest of the year at least :)

kaneboats
06-04-2009, 09:46 AM
How about when she looks over your shoulder and sees we're all talking about our wives but the title of the thread is "stripped screws"?

mmandley
06-04-2009, 10:41 AM
LOL almost spit my coffee out reading that Kane.

Sled491
06-04-2009, 03:43 PM
That's what I'm saying:)