Ideas to dislodge a bolt on batten

[carlosproa]

Since I have too much time on my hands, I decided to take the main out of my EDELCAT33, in order to clean it and re-stitch and repair the sail, which turned out to be a pain in the behind as it has full battens made by SDA.
These are round fiberglass battens that are secure via a Bolt? That is screwed at the end of the leech end of the batten end ( see picture). The bolt is Allen designed and there is a small Allen screw that block movement of the bigger one.
I was able to pull all of them except the top one as the previous owner damaged the Allen screw slot and no amount of pressure, oil, heat, cold, banging would work.
So I resorted to drill it out. But now I am stuck trying to remove the aluminum portion of the bolt inside the groves.

Any suggestions?

[carlosproa]

This is how a good bolt looks

[SVHarmonie]

If I understand you correctly you have drilled out the body of the bolt and the threads remain behind. The only way I know to go the next step is with the correct sized tap to clean the threads.

[Kestrahl]

I have a bunch of these I removed from old sails.. But I'm very far away !

[SVHarmonie]

Another comment, those bolts are not really used to "secure" the batten, rather they are used to tension the batten in its pocket. More tension give more curve to the sail.

If you do not understand the this, it is a good idea to have a sailmaker explain the process to you.

[JC Reefer]

I’d also like some clarity on what is left after the drilling.

If you have bored through the middle of the grub screw without damaging the female threads then (congrats) a good pick will be your friend. You just need to cut a bit further to get a grip.

If you have damaged the threads then you’ll need to get an all thread repair kit. It would be a special order but I’m sure there is an aluminum thread kit.

[Kestrahl]

Originally Posted by SVHarmonie

Another comment, those bolts are not really used to "secure" the batten, rather they are used to tension the batten in its pocket. More tension give more curve to the sail.

If you do not understand the this, it is a good idea to have a sailmaker explain the process to you.

On race sails the batten can be over tensioned a bit to give more camber, and tension take off after sailing.
But on a cruising sail it should be just enough tension to take the wrinkles out of the pocket as over tensioning can permanently stretch the sail. A well built sail will have sailcloth bands under the pockets to prevent the batten stretching the sail over time.

[guyrj33]

remove the batten end from the sail.
soak in white vinegar
use an easy-out to back out the screw

[thunderhoof]

Looks like a good application for a small Easy-out. The main thing is to drill the correct size hole in the damaged part, then carefully get the Easy-out to engage the first time. Since it is threaded into nylon it should not be frozen in place.
Another simpler but possibly less successful approach is to hacksaw a slot in the screw head. Make it as deep as possible and also make it fit a specific screwdriver blade. My concern here is that the material on one side of the slot may break away when the screwdriver is turned. Go slow.

[carlosproa]

Originally Posted by JC Reefer

I’d also like some clarity on what is left after the drilling.

If you have bored through the middle of the grub screw without damaging the female threads then (congrats) a good pick will be your friend. You just need to cut a bit further to get a grip.

If you have damaged the threads then you’ll need to get an all thread repair kit. It would be a special order but I’m sure there is an aluminum thread kit.

So I have not damaged the threads yet. I do understand the running part of the bolt.

[carlosproa]

Originally Posted by Kestrahl

I have a bunch of these I removed from old sails.. But I'm very far away !

Malasia is far from Miami. You are right.
I finished repairing the sail, I really need to think of replacing it but for now with the economic uncertainty I will wait and see. do you know if they still make these?