Posted by Chum on 01/09/17 - 3:39 PM
#1
I had to remove the interior oval bow eye on my 1968 Whaler 17' blue hull but it was really stuck, it would not budge. I looked for solutions on the internet and found none that worked ( used PB Blaster, wedged a screwdriver on the inside, a bar on the outside........) .
It then occurred to me to use a 3/4" socket wrench with a 2" socket and a breaker bar of 24". I put a 5/8" rebar through the exterior tow eye and a 5' long pipe to for leverage and locked it down with a heavy concrete piece (I was working alone). I then applied the socket wrench to the interior oval eye and it was a hell of a job to get it to budge 1/4 turn. I PB Blasted it ( I had also done it the day before too), and it became a tad easier, but still, I was sure the the threaded rod would break, that it how hard it was. Had I had some help, I would have put a 4' pipe extension also on the breaker bar. Finally it gave way and eventually came off. The oval eye is a bit scratched (I had put duct tape around it, but had to take it off to see the top of the rod threads), but no big deal, but all else is perfect.