I acquired an older Hobie 18 last fall. I noticed the bolt (part 8040111 at the bottom right of p.57 in the Parts_18.pdf file) holding the MRCY to the mast was badly rusted and decided to replace it before launching this year. After quite a struggle I extracted the bolt, and found it has a metal sleeve stuck on it that I can't get off:
I don't see the sleeve on the parts diagram. Looking inside the mast fittings where the bolt passed through, it looks like there may have been some silicone or other adhesive type material holding the sleeve inside the mast. From looking at the fittings on the mast, however, I am wondering whether the setup I got may have been a non-standard retrofit (perhaps using a plain steel bolt!?):
Also I noticed that when I scratch the corrosion off the washers used on the assembly they seem to have a yellowish color, suggesting they may some metal besides stainless steel, maybe bronze? Here is a picture of a washer beside the former head end of the bolt just prior to extraction:
I am planning to get a 0.319" ID / 0.375" OD sleeve of stainless steel (McMaster Carr part 89785K238) and put it around a 5/16"-18 stainless steel bolt and use stainless steel washers and a stainless steel nylon insert locknut to hold everything together. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated!