by ChrisB » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:40 am
My stemhead fitting was seriously deformed during the wild Saturday morning sail through Pensacola bay in the Florida 120. This weekend I finally got around to replacing it. While I was at it, I wanted to perform the reenforcing fix on the "L" bracket that joins the foredeck and the prow by adding two SST bolts through the prow and the bracket. Everything went well until I was drilling the hole for the second bolt and the drill bit snapped off when it cut into the metal of the "L" bracket. Of course, the bit broke off flush with the fiberglass (except for the jagged piece of metal that sliced my finger open when I was stupid enough to run my finger over it). For the time being, I took my dremel tool and ground the burr off the broken bit and covered the bit and hole with sealant. Should I be concerned about leaving the bit entombed in the hull and if so, does anyone have a suggestion as to how to remove the drill bit? Or, in the alternative, should I just keep it sealed and leave it where it is?
Chris B.