Footrest Rail Removal

[Jalapeno+]

Hi guys, I'm having zero success at removing the footrest rails from my Romany Excel, with the bolts being jammed solid.

So does anyone one know of anything more effective than WD 40, or any other handy hints? I suppose that I could drill the bolts, but would prefer a method that's non-destructive.

Thanks, Rich.

[MikeB]

WD40 is a waste of time. Try some proper penetrating oil. Halfords "release spray" or similar. What sort of bolt head is it? Hex / cross head / slot?

[FraserK]

PlusGas is an aerosol spray to aid the removal of stuck parts. Selective application of heat or cold can help the removal of stuck parts due to differing expansion breaking any bonds - you can get a freeze spray also.

[Grian]

Are you doing this in order to replace footrests with a foam bulkhead? About to undertake this so will need to remove the rails from my Romany Classic...

[Jalapeno+]

Thanks for the suggestions. Have bought some Halfords Release Spray (£5!) when I was in town today, so will give it a go and report back.

To Grian, I want to get the rails out to modify them to be able to use the furthest slot which is partially obscured by the rectangular plate which receives the bolt. I'm thinking that I can file a groove in the plate to allow the heel of the adjustment lever into the last slot to give me a bit more reach. The Excel is supposed to be for big/tall folk, but my long legs might benefit from being able to use the furthest slot, and what I have in mind would be easy to do once the rails are out. If it doesn't work, the idea of a foam block as a footrest is also in mind, and have already sorted a template.

Rich.

[MikeB]

I've had good results by soaking the bolt / rail with release spray, then putting the boat on its side, and supporting the area of the bolt (inside) with a block of wood. Then, using a large engineers screwdriver with a hex shank, I was able to apply downward pressure without the hull deforming. With a suitable spanner, torque is then easy to apply. If you don't have a hex shanked driver, you need something you can grip to turn, while applying downward pressure.

This was on an ordinary slot headed bolt.

And for anyone wanting to prevent this hassle - when you get a new boat, take out the bolts and coppaslip them, or use marine grease.

[Max_W]

I completely agree with the last comment about using grease on the bolts from the outset of getting the boat, and re-doing it annually. I needed to remove the rear footrest rail bolts from my Romany Surf but no amount of penetrating oil would do any good, and the hex heads ended up getting deformed. I ended up drilling out the bolts and that wasn't a major issue, just needed a brand new drill bit.

[Jalapeno+]

Negative result with the release spray. Applied copious amounts to the bolts with the boat on its side as suggested to allow to soak downwards, left it for a week and no chance of them loosening. Will only strip the Allen bolt slots, so it looks like a drill out with a new bit if I'm going to do it. Thanks again for the advice.
Rich.

[Max_W]

Negative result with the release spray. Applied copious amounts to the bolts with the boat on its side as suggested to allow to soak downwards, left it for a week and no chance of them loosening. Will only strip the Allen bolt slots, so it looks like a drill out with a new bit if I'm going to do it. Thanks again for the advice.
Rich.

Don't mean to teach you to suck eggs, but start with a new small drill bit, and once you've got the initial hole through the middle of the bolt, work upwards with drill bits 1mm at a time. This will generate the easiest cut, with least force on the bolt and surrounding composite.