Lena Invader 22
My main site	home	allsorts	***	***	Outboard Bracket

Thought I would get this done and out the way - and maybe any refixing on the underside of the cockpit sides - while I can still climb right in to the locker. Once the diesel tank goes back in - and any shelf or partitions - then it becomes a whole lot more awkward.

Removing the outboard bracket Well - it was a thoroughly siezed up mass of aluminium & rusted bolts. The springs had gone to rust - looked like something you find at low tide and wonder what it dropped off of ! But I am going to salvage it - see below left for the original state. I've checked out the stainless steel stockholders for the bolts - there quite cheap and can even get A4 stainless coachbolts. Found a Bristol firm, 'Flexo Springs' ( now there's an original name! ) that sells every type of spring you can imagine. Coachbolts - there lay the problem, the nuts on the inside - and apparently fitted from new, as the two inboard nuts were firmly cast into the lay-up. This is inside the large port cockpit locker, ( I can climb right inside - so I did this job as it was a horrible windy, bitter day ! ) The lockers have been made independently watertight - so the gap between the cockpit moulding and the transom has been glassed over - along with the nuts for the outboard. They were galv, and well rusted. This last one was the real pig - managed by breaking out a hole into the void - which just gave me about 30mm movement on the hacksaw. This was after some preliminary butchery with a 4" grinder. The joys of fixing a boat - an Easter Sat afternoon spent inside a locker, grinding, occasionally coming up for air.