The exterior teak handrail is fastened with a screw from the top, through the deck and into the interior cabin handrail below it. A teak bung covers the screw.
My problem is that one of the screws has rusted through, and the forward end of the exterior handrail is now loose, and catches the jib sheet when tacking (not to mention that a loose handrail is not very safe and could also break off altogether).
I think I need to drill through the bung, remove the top half of the screw and try to drill out the broken/rusted screw in the deck. But I am worried that my drill bit will slip on the screw and damage the adjacent gelcoat--ie. I don't think I can drill it out neatly. I don't have access to the underside in the cabin because of the interior handrail and the padded headliner. One other thought I had was to remove some of the gelcoat around the broken off screw, enough so I can grab it with a vice grip to unscrew it, and then refill the gelcoat (most of the area would be covered by the re-attached handrail).
Does anyone have any experience with this problem, or any advice on how I can fix this? Also, would you advise undoing all the screws in the handrail and replacing them because the forward one rusted through--ie. are they all suspect, or if they seem tight, and there is no movement in the handrail, should I only fix the broken off one?
Thanks for any help.
Frank.
My problem is that one of the screws has rusted through, and the forward end of the exterior handrail is now loose, and catches the jib sheet when tacking (not to mention that a loose handrail is not very safe and could also break off altogether).
I think I need to drill through the bung, remove the top half of the screw and try to drill out the broken/rusted screw in the deck. But I am worried that my drill bit will slip on the screw and damage the adjacent gelcoat--ie. I don't think I can drill it out neatly. I don't have access to the underside in the cabin because of the interior handrail and the padded headliner. One other thought I had was to remove some of the gelcoat around the broken off screw, enough so I can grab it with a vice grip to unscrew it, and then refill the gelcoat (most of the area would be covered by the re-attached handrail).
Does anyone have any experience with this problem, or any advice on how I can fix this? Also, would you advise undoing all the screws in the handrail and replacing them because the forward one rusted through--ie. are they all suspect, or if they seem tight, and there is no movement in the handrail, should I only fix the broken off one?
Thanks for any help.
Frank.