This part ain’t rocket science folks. In fact, it’s probably the easiest thing you are going to do if you take on a full restoration. I didn’t bother to take any pictures because it would be a waste of film.
Here is what you need to know: most of the hardware uses self-tapping Phillips head screws. What this means is that nothing else is holding the screw in place other than its threads. The upside, easy removal. The downside, they can eventually fail if the deck becomes rotted and repeated removal can strip out the core material that the threads use to hold the screw in place. When replacing the hardware, it is a good idea to coat the threads with epoxy or 3M 5200 sealant.
A neat trick I found on an older boat was that the previous owner used plastic drywall anchors when he replaced the hardware. Simply find the matching anchor for the screw size, drill a hole to the appropriate width for the anchor, install the hardware, and it’s not going anywhere (I’ll get pictures of this). If you use this method, there is no need to epoxy or 5200 the threads. A good reason to consider using this method is that the anchors spread the load of the hardware (mainly the halyard cleat and fairlead) over a wider area as opposed to the threads of the self-tapping screws grabbing on to the core material to hold it in place.
Other options to consider regarding hardware replacement; through bolts and backing blocks on areas that can be reached through the inspection ports. I’ll get into this later…
