Deck fitting attaching

[kriselda]

Hi, I have a 2005 39 Cruiser and need to tighten or maybe replace the clutches and the pulley organizers on the cabin top.
Does anyone know how these are attached as there are no nuts or obvious attachments on the underside of the cabin top.

[Symphony]

They are screwed into aluminium plates bonded into the deck moulding. To remove just unscrew the mounting machine screws. However, often easier said than done as there may be corrosion between the screw and the aluminium. So penetrating oil is useful as is a lot of patience. When you replace the screws use an anti corrosion paste on the threads or the sealant you will use to bed the fittings. Note that if you are using Spinlock clutches they recommend silicone sealant which is unusual on a boat.

[kriselda]

Thanks for that Symphony.

[Salty]

Symphony’s advice is absolutely spot on, the aluminium plates that are bonded into the glass fibre frequently corrode in favour of the stainless securing bolts in such a way that they are gripped so tightly that they will break off rather than undo. Using brute force to remove the bolts will have you wishing that you hadn’t started that day. So if they don’t undo very easily with only gentle amounts of force you will need a lot of patience and some easing oil to flood the bolt and come back in a day or two when the oil has had chance to work its magic. indeed it may be best to soak with easing oil every bolt you intend to undo several days before you start the job.
Good luck, and don’t forget the anticorrosion paste/sealant when you put the new bolts back in place. Don’t use the old ones as they may have been weakened during removal.

[Stevie H]

I replaced 10 x 20 year old Rutgerson clutches on my B36 with new Spinlock this year, which also meant drilling and tapping new holes in the aluminium plates due to the differing sizes. I used an impact driver to remove the old machine screws and found it to be a very effective approach. I now appreciate the old clutches were well past their sell by date. Just for once it was a job that went smoothly and was completed in a day, so I await the simple job later this year that takes a week 

[Lazy Pelican]

If you’re finding the clutch’s stiff and difficult to use, they are easy to dismantle, clean and spray the relevant parts with PTFE. Makes a huge difference.