Last year, a thunderstorm tossed my 1971 H-16 and caused quite a bit of damage. I discovered a large crack yesterday in the front crossbar, just inboard of the starboard casting. It runs through a jib track rivet, and goes 3/4 of the way around the bar. Obviously, I won't be sailing until this is fixed.
I'm located in Tempe, Arizona, and I'm interested in replacing the crossbar with a used one. If anyone has an old H-16 front crossbar for sale, let me know. I understand that shipping one of these might be pricey.
I'm planning to remove the tramp, remove the striker, and then drill out the rivets in the castings. I have a heavy-duty manual rivet puller, but will this serve for the massive SS rivets that hold these parts together?
If anyone has gone through this, I'd appreciate any tips and tricks to doing the job right. Thanks!
Rick
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