E38-200 outboard track removal

[michaelsanders]

We are extensively refitting our 1986 E38-200. We have every piece of deck gear except the outboard tracks removed at this point. It looks like it is going to be a real PITA to get to all of the fasteners for removal and eventual reinstallation. We do already have the headliner down throughout the boat. The starboard side, with the head, shower room, and nav station cabinetry is going be the most challenging area to get a socket on the nuts. It would be most ideal to re-bed it at this point, as everything else that we have removed has exposed failed sealant and wet holes. Anyone gone down this path before?

 

[Loren Beach]

Yup. Some of ours - different model- were very difficult to get at. As is SOP in the industry, all of this hardware is bolted on before the deck is attached to the hull, and before interior bulkheads are tabbed to it, as well. For our aft long tracks, I had to use a 'multimaster' vibrating cutter and also a small hole-saw drill bit to cautiously and carefully carve in around several nuts and the thick "fender washers" under the nut. (sigh)
We did successfully drill out and epoxy-fill every single fastening hole, and then re-drill. We did not have any moisture intrusion inside our 1988 deck, but a lot of fastenings did show where the original 5200 sealant was allowing moisture to get within a 16th of the point where it would have reached the coring. All is well now, but as you look at my blog entries you will notice that, as Jerry Garcia put it so well: "What a long strange trip it's been!"