So, out of the blue, at 4:06 PM EST, Chris from Tartan calls me "from the golf course." My inquiry was "what are those six damn bolts into?" Apparently it "pings" their phones, and customer service is now paramount. That's TWO calls from Tartan on a 40 year old boat in less than an hour. One from R.I. and one from OH. Just . . . wow. The original pivot pin stainless plates were bolted into lead with stainless lag bolts. He suggests going up one size, clear all old bolts, drill out the stainless plates to accommodate the up-size, and treat the keel like wood. That is, self-tap, using the appropriate sized bit and then lag bolt. The threads of the bolt do the tapping. I even asked if he intended a pointy-end, actual "lag bolt" and he said "yes." Note that the bit used to drill out the stainless bracket plates (6 holes) will be LARGER than the bit used to set up the six holes in the underside of the centerboard trunk/keel. The plate holes will accommodate the full diameter of the bolt and shoulder. The trunk/keel holes will accommodate the bore of the lag bolt, the threads doing their job "self tapping."
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