External Mast Tracks

[ckoucky]

I have A Herreshoff Golden Ball with hollow wooden masts. the ss external tracks are pulling out of the mast where the gaff rides when hoisted. What is the best way to keep the screws from backing out.

Capt Chuck

[Brion Toss]

Hi,
Epoxy potting is likely the way to go. With sufficient depth and radius, you can get actual throughbolt strength by lagging into epoxy. Gougeon has data on hole size and depth for a given fastener size.
Oh, and just wetting the screw hole with epoxy before installing increases pullout strength by about 50%. Marvelous.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[Ian McColgin]

For a critical spot like that, I've had very good luck using coarse thread machine bolt and tapping the hole in the wood. I then wet it with epoxy, usually with a little injection, and set the bolt. The epoxy hardens the wooden threads. The bond to the bolt itself is not so much that you can't back the bolt out if necessary. I screw down to a firm hand tight - about 7 foot pounds.

G'luck