32-3 Dorade vent guard removal

[peaman]

I would like to remove the 3-legged stainless guard at the Dorade vent for maintenance and rebedding on my 32-3, but am not sure how it is secured to the deck. If it has through-bolts with nuts on the underside of the deck, then I would be forced to deal with the vinyl headliner. That's something I would like to avoid at this time. So is the guard secured with through-bolts, or with blind screws?

 

[Christian Williams]

I'd expect bolts, but try to unscrew one and see.

I don't remember if there are zippers. If not, perhaps you could remove headliner trim and un-staple enough for access.

 

[Nick J]

I'm not sure where it lands on the interior of the 32-3, but here's how it's attached to my 35-3. The other two attachment points land in areas that aren't accessible from existing zippers either. If I didn't have the headliner already pulled back, I might have been able to reach the nuts from the dorade vent hole with the trim ring removed.

 

[peaman]

but here's how it's attached to my 35-3.

Thanks. That's pretty much what I was afraid of. It might be better if I could actually feel the nuts through the headliner, like I can on my deck organizers, but since I can't, plus with bulkhead placement, I can't even guess where the mount points are, from the interior without opening things up.

Will you / did you / go with vinyl headliner to replace the original, or some other material or system?

 

[Kenneth K]

I still have my dorade guard in a partial state of repair.

I think the port side mount is accessible through the zipper in the head, but that's the only one I haven't removed yet. The two aft nuts are covered with plywood, but it looks like access holes were drilled to receive a socket:



For the other two bases, you need to cut or remove the headliner for access:


The center base was the only one where I had water damage. This one is most susceptible because of the poor fit of the base over the molded non-skid on the deck:

 

[peaman]

The pictures are tremendously helpful. Thanks!