Hi Guys,
I recently picked up a 2008 AI, as a project boat - it needs a bit of TLC to bring it back to life...
One hitch I've run into is that the screws holding the furling-line cleat have partially stripped heads and the ones on the mainsheet cleat are pretty much rock-solid - I tried to put maximum force with the screw-driver, but didn't want to break the screws or strip the heads. (see pic, below)
I know you can get special drill-bits to help out with stripped heads, but the screws seem pretty solid, so I don't think they'd be of any use.
I've sprayed them with a fair bit of RP-7, but that didn't make much difference. I was thinking about a bit of heat (boiling water from the kettle) to try and break the lock - I suspect there's a bit of corrosion in there.
A worse-case scenario would be to cut away the plastic of the fairleads and cleats, leaving the screws exposed, which would be easier to work on, but that might be a bit extreme?
Can anyone suggest what I can try next?
Cheers,