RichM Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 A large boat went by causing one of my fairleads to buckle along with the fixing screws sheering off. Is it just a matter of drilling out the screw hole or is there another way to do it? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen-in-Wellies Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 If it has happened once it could happen again. I would drill out the broken screw and drill and tap everything for larger screws. The fairleads for my centre rope had 4mm diameter holes in them. I lost one fairlead when all three M4 screws sheared hauling on the boat in a lock. I am not hugely strong honest. They and the fairlead on the other side were drilled and retapped for M6. You will need to buy or borrow appropriate size drills, tap, tap wrench and a countersink drill to increase the size and depth of the countersinks in the fairleads. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb Innisfree Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 Be careful your bow doesn't catch on the top cill otherwise your counter may sink... OK I'm going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Mack Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 59 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said: If it has happened once it could happen again. I would drill out the broken screw and drill and tap everything for larger screws. The fairleads for my centre rope had 4mm diameter holes in them. I lost one fairlead when all three M4 screws sheared hauling on the boat in a lock. I am not hugely strong honest. They and the fairlead on the other side were drilled and retapped for M6. You will need to buy or borrow appropriate size drills, tap, tap wrench and a countersink drill to increase the size and depth of the countersinks in the fairleads. Jen Or if you have access to the underside you could just drill a plain hole and use nuts and bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshire cat Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 I had the same problem. In my case the wind blew me against a raised lift bridge on the Llangollen which "pinged" the fairlead off. I found that once I started drilling the screw it was quite happy to screw itself further in and actually ended up inside the hollow box section of the roof rail. I was then able to replace with screws of the same size. If your fairlead is not salvageable you may find that the new fairlead is of a different size and therefore the requirements for holes will be of a different screw spacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reg Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago. I relocated mine slightly so that I could drill fresh holes. The main thing I did before refitting it was to drill and, importantly, countersink a 3rd hole in the center so that I had 3 fixing points, never had a problem since. Important to use a countersink and a suitable screw to prevent rope chaff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scholar Gypsy Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 They look like they were riveted on in the first place?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said: ... retapped for M6. You will need to buy or borrow appropriate size drills, tap, tap wrench and a countersink drill to increase the size... Note that, conveniently, the drill size for M6 is 5mm. 11 minutes ago, Scholar Gypsy said: They look like they were riveted on in the first place?? They look like hex head csk SS to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshire cat Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 36 minutes ago, WotEver said: Note that, conveniently, the drill size for M6 is 5mm. They look like hex head csk SS to me. They look like SS to me too in which case they probably will turn deeper into the hole but drilling them will blunt a bit fairly quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 I wouldn't use them for that very reason,pinging off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.i Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 That is a pop rivet and whoever pop riveted a fairlead on obviously has no clue what they are doing. Drill it out and refix using an M5 (minimum) nut and bolt. I would use stainless steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fender151 Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 Yep, been there, done that. I was not sure of the material the busted screw was made from, and wanted to avoid leaving a broken drill in a partly drilled out hole, I got a cobalt HS drill bit, did the job a treat. Resized the hole, (check the maximum diameter of the hole in fairlead) drilled out, retapped thread, take your time on this, make sure the tap is properly aligned, you may only get one shot, I used hardened steel hex bolts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewIC Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 47 minutes ago, pete.i said: That is a pop rivet and whoever pop riveted a fairlead on obviously has no clue what they are doing. Drill it out and refix using an M5 (minimum) nut and bolt. I would use stainless steel. Magnifying the pic, I'm pretty sure it's a CSK hex socket head screw. That said, using pop rivets wouldn't be entirely mad, if you wanted to create a weak point that would give way, think weak links on fender chains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichM Posted May 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 Magnifying the pic, I'm pretty sure it's a CSK hex socket head screw. That said, using pop rivets wouldn't be entirely mad, if you wanted to create a weak point that would give way, think weak links on fender chains. It is a hex socket screw. Judging by the size of the screw, I am guessing it was intended to be a weak point perhaps as you described. 2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said: I wouldn't use them for that very reason,pinging off Interesting to read. Since losing one I noticed many boats don't have one but without it, it would make a mess of the paint which would in turn lead to rust. What do you use/do instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 1 hour ago, pete.i said: That is a pop rivet Looks like a hex csk to me. Do you know the boat well then? 19 minutes ago, RichM said: Thanks for the replies. Interesting to read. Since losing one I noticed many boats don't have one but without it, it would make a mess of the paint which would in turn lead to rust. What do you use/do instead? I suspect DC meant he wouldn't use SS screws. But maybe he did mean fairleads... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuthound Posted May 26, 2017 Report Share Posted May 26, 2017 1 hour ago, RichM said: It is a hex socket screw. Judging by the size of the screw, I am guessing it was intended to be a weak point perhaps as you described. Interesting to read. Since losing one I noticed many boats don't have one but without it, it would make a mess of the paint which would in turn lead to rust. What do you use/do instead? Some boats have brass strips on them, rather than a fairlead, so the rope rubs that rather than the pain't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
system 4-50 Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 7 hours ago, cuthound said: Some boats have brass strips on them, rather than a fairlead, so the rope rubs that rather than the pain't. Has anybody got an idea of where these can be bought, or do you have to make your own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray T Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 (edited) Rapid Metals Bayton Road industrial Estate, Exhall, Coventry can supply brass strips of varying dimensions. 02476 366888. Edited May 27, 2017 by Ray T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpur Hill Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 Use a door push strip. some are plain, that is, they are not embossed "push" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 12 hours ago, Ray T said: Rapid Metals Bayton Road industrial Estate, Exhall, Coventry can supply brass strips of varying dimensions. 02476 366888. http://www.rapidmetals.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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