Rivet mounted block in mast

[Kevin Henderson]

Just when I opened my mouth and said I'll probably never use my spinnaker, the Admiral stepped in and said we should still give it a try.  (Am I lucky or what?   )
That being said, I started going through the motions to rig and fly the chute but noticed that the sliding car on the face of the mast was difficult to move.
Upon further inspection, I also noticed that a small block at the base of the mast whose bearings are, (were) plastic, had disentegrated and is hopelessly jammed and requiring replacement.  
Figuring it would be a quick fix, I find out that the block is attached to the mast with a rivet.  And to make matters worse, that rivet is almost at the seal of my mast boot.

My questions is:  what methods should I do to replace that block?  I'm thinking of drilling it out and then tapping it so I can replace the block with a stainless steel screw.

Thoughts and comments always welcome  

[Stu Jackson]

Levin, the easiest things to do:

1.  Drill out the rivets and tap in some screws.

2.  Buy a track mounted block.