New owner -- Main cam cleat mount, keelson drain plug

[97wrights]

Hello there! My dad and I recently purchased an Oday DaySailer I in September this year -- hull #20258, class #3742 (1969?) -- and we recently have some questions about her.

1. During removal of the main cam mount (wanted to replace the screws), 2 of the 4 machine screw heads broke and the screw bodies have been difficult to drill out. After reading on this forum, we suspect they are rusted with the bronze plate inside the centerboard trunk. I'm guessing that the centerboard trunk cover is sealed to the hull with something like 3M 5200, and getting underneath it would be a lost cause. Has anyone been able to remove this cover? I stuck an otoscope camera underneath the trunk cover and see extensive rusting (pictures A and B). We plan to try another extractor set and are open to drilling them out /re-threading the holes if possible. Worst case scenario, if the screws are adamant on staying put, are there other mounting options for the main cam cleat mount that has been designed? Such as a piece of bent sheet metal bolted through the sides of the centerboard trunk.


2. There is a keelson drain plug in the floor but it appears broken. Hoping to get it removed and replaced. My current plan is to just drill it out unless there are other recommendations (see pictures C and D).

[GreenLake]

Welcome to the forum.

I have a drain plug like that, but it's been glassed over for decades now and not missed. There is another drain at the bottom of the transom with a rubber plug. Not sure whether it is original or not but it was present when I first got the boat. It will fully drain the hull if on a slight incline (as all my parking spots happen to be). Or if the trailer tongue is raised just a bit. So I'm relying on that drain instead. Not hard to retrofit either with common standard parts.

I'm curious about your mention of 3M 5200 in connection with the CB trunk. On my boat, the trunk is a single solid moulding and the threaded brass plate is glassed in. I understand that some later boats may have a separate cap on top of the trunk. Is that the case? A picture would help.

The two closeups are less informative as without context it's hard to know the placement.

Several members have fashioned an adapter plate with two sets of holes at 45° angle. One set is tapped to take the bolts from your hardware, the rotated set is used for bolts that go into a newly drilled pattern in the original brass plate that avoids the snapped off bolts. This does require tapping those new holes. It seems an elegant solution to me. Use Tefgel on any bolts to prevent them from seizing and fill any gaps with epoxy or caulk.

You bolt the adapter plate in place using the rotated set of holes and then bolt your hardware to the adapter using whatever standard configuration of bolt pattern you need. This also works if you are trying to fit something that doesn't match the original pattern.