Bedding: Tag Ends

Couple things I forgot to mention on this topic. First, a great timesaver in removing fittings is a Vise Grips pliers. Just lock the Vise Grips on the nut of the fastener, go on deck, and turn the other end. No need to have a helper below deck.

Second, a battery powered drill with a chuck that can accept your deep sockets will speed the work.

Here's the controversy referred to in my last post. Some folks think the method I described provides insufficient mechanical contact between deck and fitting - by reason of the interposed thickish rubbery compound - resulting in strain on the fastenings. Maybe so, and maybe that concern is heightened when bedding a turning block on an eighty foot maxi, as compared with the comparable job on my little crab crusher. It would take lab testing to find out.

In any case an alternative exists, which is to touch each fastener hole with a countersink such as is pictured

here. The idea is to create a little space around each fastener from which the compound cannot be squeezed out as the fastener is tightened down, see my crude rendering below. In practice, one simply spreads a thinnish layer of compound where the fitting will go, making sure to get a bit on each countersunk hole, and then one tightens down the fitting, all in one go. No need wait until the compound has cured before tightening down.

Does this alternative works as well as my recommended technique? My guess is not, because there is a dearth of thick rubbery adhesive compound between green water and the cozy accomodation of your yacht. But it may work well enough, and it is undoubtedly efficient. I actually have come to touch the countersink to most holes, even when using the "traditional" technique.

xxx