J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Mast drainage

I will have to think about a SS helicoil, they aren't much fun to work with and I am not confident that they are as strong as the parent metal. Since I have to drill one position for sure, my first effort will be to just see if the standard tap gets it done. If not then my temptation to drill to the next larger bolt size is going to increase dramatically. It would be easy now to modify the casting to accept the larger bolts too. I just cleaned this casting up and then sprayed it with a self etching primer. This was the first time I used that Husky right angle die grinder and it was great, like a Dremel on super steroids. Used a small sanding disc first then one of the stiff scotch bright type abrasives. That tool will be great for grinding out transitions in fiberglass work.