Thanks everyone for the replies and moral support- it is very welcome. Thanks for the links too- its all very helpful. I'm starting from zero with my knowledge of boat repair, so seeing what others have done is incredibly useful.
I don't know why I said those plates are steel. Upon reading the mainsheet articles, it looks like the plates (if they are original) are bronze. They are threaded. In fact, as Stu said, there is nothing underneath but air. So those threads were doing all the work. And a fairly good job I suppose since the track stayed in place for 30 years.
The question now becomes, since I snapped my plates in half, do I need to replace those plates with bronze or aluminum, or can I just build it up with epoxy or fiberglass? Previously the plates and threading were doing the work, but now I will be thru bolting the track. In fact I may go ahead and thru bolt it in a few spots rather than just the two on each side that Catalina suggests. Perhaps an outboard and an inboard thru bolt on each side?
Sorry if this is all basic stuff. As I said this type of work is all new to me, and I definitely don't have the knowledge or understanding that some of you more experienced guys may have. Obviously If I had thru bolted the track before the plates failed this wouldn't be a problem- The thru bolting seems pretty straight forward and well documented. I'm just a little overwhelmed on where to start with my repair work.
I will reach out to Gerry Douglass and see if I can get any ideas of how I should proceed from him.
Now I'm gonna go back to pounding the impact driver to see if I can get those old bolts out- or if I need to order a new track
I don't know why I said those plates are steel. Upon reading the mainsheet articles, it looks like the plates (if they are original) are bronze. They are threaded. In fact, as Stu said, there is nothing underneath but air. So those threads were doing all the work. And a fairly good job I suppose since the track stayed in place for 30 years.
The question now becomes, since I snapped my plates in half, do I need to replace those plates with bronze or aluminum, or can I just build it up with epoxy or fiberglass? Previously the plates and threading were doing the work, but now I will be thru bolting the track. In fact I may go ahead and thru bolt it in a few spots rather than just the two on each side that Catalina suggests. Perhaps an outboard and an inboard thru bolt on each side?
Sorry if this is all basic stuff. As I said this type of work is all new to me, and I definitely don't have the knowledge or understanding that some of you more experienced guys may have. Obviously If I had thru bolted the track before the plates failed this wouldn't be a problem- The thru bolting seems pretty straight forward and well documented. I'm just a little overwhelmed on where to start with my repair work.
I will reach out to Gerry Douglass and see if I can get any ideas of how I should proceed from him.
Now I'm gonna go back to pounding the impact driver to see if I can get those old bolts out- or if I need to order a new track