Bow to Hull Screw Busted - Hobie Getaway

I am at a loss of what to do.

Today after sailing I noticed that the screw on the bow of the hull was loose. I tried to tighten it and noticed that it just kept spinning. I come to find out that the screw seems to have busted and the other half is stuck in the hull.

What should I do? I'm worried water will leak in so I am thinking of sealing. However, I am also worried that since the screw isn't tight and holding the bow of the hull to the bow spreader, the will cause more damage.

Will I need to take the entire hull off the spreaders to remove the broken screw?

Please advise.
Thanks

Not to worry. The screw through the side of the hull passes through solid plastic of the hull. No possible leak issue. It threads into a plastic block that is riveted to the spreader. That could have stripped. The screw is only a fully redundant fastener to ensure that the spreader stays seated in it's recessed hole on the inboard side. It is not really critical as the tensioned trampoline holds the hulls inward. It was an afterthought that if in an extreme case where the forward tramp was not used... and the bows were forced apart... never seen that happen.

You sure the screw is broken? You could push a screw driver into the hole and it should pass through the block easily if there is nothing in there. The screw is 2" long. 8030290 SCREW 5/16-18x2 PHMS-P SS.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)