So - how the hell do I fix this?

I'm pretty sure that beam in your picture is not new (hardy har har).

I'm also pretty sure you are just looking for a new SS screw and nut... and maybe a washer. Take all the tension off the dolphin striker, remove the striker and replace the hardware.

How the hell do I get to the bolt on the inside of the beam? Its a good 18" inboard from the end cap...

This is a perfect opportunity for gadgetjake to show us a special tool he made out of popsicle sticks!

Batten with the wrench (box end works best) whipped to it with line. If you do end up needing a front beam,let me know. I think I have one but it's black.

Yeah, batten with a wrench taped to it (thoroughly). Tape the bolt and washer on an open end wrench being a little careful to not put tape too much under the bolt/washer. If you have the time, silicone the bolt and washer on the wrench the night before (I would prep two).

I don't know how hard it's going to be to get around the internal castings in the beam ... I suppose it's possible that you may need to remove those (I've never dne that).

Be glad that you found this now. That could have cost you a beam and left you dismasted in a rather unpleasant situation.

Using an offset wrench may help. I normally prefer to use an open end wrench in this situation. Put a layer of tape around the bolt head and normally you can make it stay put even with the open wrench.

Looks quite familiar to me.

It's one off the notorious places of a cat where the stainless steel meets aluminium with a little devastating electrical current as result.

Problem with repair is that maybe the whole surrounding of the bolt-hole in the beam is affected. I didn't hear you talking about this; maybe it is not visible.

And yes you maybe can solve this by a big washer, but I would have doubts. By the way, the old Prindles had an aluminium strip inside the beam where the the two bolts for the dolphin-striker where fixed. So you had to replace the strip as well.

I suggest you to de-mount the forebeam anyway and inspect everything carefully.

I remember also that the old nacra's with the round beams broke a lot on this point because of these problems with usage on saltsea.

NorthSea Junkie has a good point. Check for galvanic corrosion( mine had it there) and make sure you use tefgel, lanocoat or equivalent between dissimilar metals. You probably do this already, but should if you don't.

Ok I'll try the wrench on a batten trick and see how much I curse and complain about not being able to find the hole 😛

Part it out and buy a Hobie Wave. No hardware used at the beam/hull joints. <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" />

Mike

Speaking of Hobie Waves, my neighbor bought a used one and she asked me to set it up for her, she has zero sailing knowledge. I put the mast up for her and explained a few things like the downhaul, traveler, etc. but how much rig tension should the Wave have under

Normal

(non racing) conditions?

I just snugged it up so the mast wouldn't flop around in a storm while sitting on her beach, but I could make the rig tighter, does it need to be tight or is Snug good enough?

Actually, I think the Wave is sailed with the rig sloppy loose.

Northsea junkie hit on something - there is probably a thick aluminum bearing plate behind those bolts. It's probably corroded badly and should be replaced while you are in there. Before you spend too much time trying to work your way around the reinforcement castings, I would try to remove them from the beam (after removing the beam bolts and any rivets if there are any). It will make life a lot easier to have those out of the way. Expect that the beam has compressed a little where the main bolts are so it will take some effort to free them. An old-school body repair slide-hammer tied to the casting with a short piece of high tech line might help extract them.

You are going to need a little patience for this repair.

Jake, my boat doesn't have the castings that I observed in the infusion. When were they added to the 20?

Jake,

How do the reinforcement casting getting attached? They look seem less and impossible to remove on the Infusion front beam...

I don't recall exactly. I know the rear beam on the 20 has a narrow rectangular piece of aluminum tubing in them to make a web and keep the bolts from crushing the beam. I can't remember what the front beams had in them (it's been a while) but I thought it was similar to what the infusion has. There has to be something in the front beam or the bolts would crush the aluminum extrusion.

The castings inside the front beam of the infusion are cast and the beam is extruded - so they can't be one piece. There would be no advantage to welding them in place. I'm pretty sure the beam bolts go through the casting and hold it in place. I also seem to recall a rivet in it somewhere for some reason.

Ah you're talking about the outboard castings, on the Infusion there are definitely some plates in the mast base area. How the heck they are installed, never mind removed, is an engineering problem I'd rather not think about!

Yeah I'd rather not pull the beams off.

I'll stick the inspection camera down in there and see whats what.

what kinda camera do you use?

The harbor freight special. Actually I'm not even sure it works anymore.

My 20 front beam has the same deal as the rear beam. Would appear to be an extruded part of the beam.

Of course you realize you have to take the other side apart to check it......right?

Thought maybe you got the wife to grab you a colonascope from work or something <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" />

No but she did bring the ultrasound home one night to check to see where our puppy's undescended testicle was 😛

haha! (don't even wanna know what the results were)

That is hands-down, the mother of all thread tangents. Wow...

Mike

Hmmmmm. I really thought that was an extra piece but you certainly could be right. Either way, if it looks like the rear beam reinforcement, it will be a lot easier to work around than the infusion-style pieces.

Puppy? mmh.

Right up there with this one.

It is like the Prindle, the strip and 2 bolts are one piece, If you can remove the other nut and see if you can force the piece up into the beam, remove and replace. If I recall the bolts were welded to the strip.