Overhaul mechanism in spinnaker pole

Overhaul mechanism in spinnaker pole

The mechanism in my spinnaker pole is not working well.

I need to take it a part to inspect and repair.

What is the best way to free up the screws which completely “frozen”

The classic problem with stainless screws in aluminum exposed to saltwater.

Have anyone been successful with this kind of work?

All comments are welcome.

Bjorn, Four Winds, 44/014

Dear Bjorn,
I did the same job on the jockey pole a couple of years ago. See the post (Jockey pole) dated 4 July 2014.
Best wishes
Jyrki (Infant 38/014)

Thank you for the hint!

We did try that method but no particular luck.

It is difficult not just destroy the screw head. If it had been Phillip screws the chance would have been better.

I will have anther attemp, though.

There are several things that will help freeing seized stainless steel screws from aluminum. This is a list of actions; some of them should be wisely combined together.

1) apply heat.

2) apply cold.

3) use an impact driver.

4) drill a small hole centered into the screw and apply the proper screw extractor.

5) drill a precise bore centered into the screw with bits of increasing size till reaching the kernel size of the screw and then use a tap to clean the thread.

According to my experience:

(3) often works well because the mechanical shock helps also breaking the chemical bond.

(4) was always unsuccessful, sometimes even disastrous.

(5) is the last resort, difficult and lengthy but always successful.

Daniel, 411/004

Dear Bjorn

I have had success with heat, and with impact drivers. No luck with screw extractors.

One thing I did learn though with the screw extractors is that if you attempt to drill the screws out, there are left hand drills available so that the drill rotation will work to remove rather than tighten the screw.

Good luck

Tonyh 44 004 Hatha

Dear All,

I too have struggled greatly with the removal of ss screws from aluminum.  When working to remove the ss bolts from my traveler track I was at the point where I thought I would just replace the track with new; then I asked my friend at the machine shop who is always full of great ideas.  This works.

Heat the screw with a torch; apply candle wax directly around the screw or bolt head, and bottom is possible, and let it melt into the threads.  It's like magic.   The screw will come out!

Good luck.

BTW, this was his proprietary secret but he was happy to share it with our forum - I just got off the phone with him to make sure it was okay.  Possibly some of the engineers know of this method.

Chris Mabel's Casse Tete  43/003

Hi, I managed on Croix du Cygnes jockey-pole and boom by drying the end on the central heating for a long time, apply hits by wood and hammer to fracture the corrosion and then an impact screwdriver. When the screws are out it realy starts; applying enormous torque by securing a piece of strech-free rope and turn it around for about 6 times to unload the initial attachment; a level of about 2 meters and patience. some additional wood and hammer to fracure the corrosion between tube and cast finaly made this work for me..

Arneoud, your description made me remind of an extremely handy tool which should stay in our boats: a strap wrench. It is cheap, easy to store and it has many applications, from the kitchen (opening the stuck lid of a jar) down to a stuck spinnaker pole or an oil filter.  If you have two of them, even better!

Daniel, 411/004

strap wrench

Indeed!! And most probably it's best to use 2 in parallel for the same torque direction in this case as with a tube on the grip of about 2 meters I'm not sure the safety margins in the design are enough to deal with the forces.. ;-)

Aernoud (Croix du Cygne 37')

Dear Aernoud

Dear Professor, thanks for the insight! Actualy I'm referring to the safety margins in the design of the "oil-filter wrench" being concerned about such a device being able to deal with the force applied with a 2 m tube as extra lever on it's handle.

with best regards, Aernoud.

Indeed!! And most probably it's best to use 2 in parallel for the same torque direction in this case as with a tube on the grip of about 2 meters I'm not sure the safety margins in the design are enough to deal with the forces.. ;-)

Aernoud (Croix du Cygne 37')

Indeed!! And most probably it's best to use 2 in parallel for the same torque direction in this case as with a tube on the grip of about 2 meters I'm not sure the safety margins in the design are enough to deal with the forces.. ;-)

Aernoud (Croix du Cygne 37')