I repair kayaks and you can get alot done in a tight space if you are patient and think creatively.
For the bow eye, I would cut off from the outside and punch the the studs inward. Looking thru the two holes, scratch around to feel how soft the wood is. If it's relatively soft, chuck an allen wrench in a drill. Put the long part in the drill so you have a short leg paddle. Roll it into the hole between the two fiberglass skins and let er rip....slowly of course!!
You can work up to bigger paddles to hog out the wood. Epoxy with filler makes a paste. Put in a large syringe, add a tube for deeper reach if needed and fill void created. (I say epoxy because fiberglass resin creates alot of heat that thick)
Redrill holes and install new bow eye. May have to tape every socket extention you own as well as your neighbors to feed the nut into the abyss to thread on. (You could stuff the nut into a stiff hose and try to get started also).
This is how I would replace the bow eye pad in an afternoon.
Just one idea to get the creative juices flowing.
I repair kayaks and you can get alot done in a tight space if you are patient and think creatively.
For the bow eye, I would cut off from the outside and punch the the studs inward. Looking thru the two holes, scratch around to feel how soft the wood is. If it's relatively soft, chuck an allen wrench in a drill. Put the long part in the drill so you have a short leg paddle. Roll it into the hole between the two fiberglass skins and let er rip....slowly of course!! :up:
You can work up to bigger paddles to hog out the wood. Epoxy with filler makes a paste. Put in a large syringe, add a tube for deeper reach if needed and fill void created. (I say epoxy because fiberglass resin creates alot of heat that thick)
Redrill holes and install new bow eye. May have to tape every socket extention you own as well as your neighbors to feed the nut into the abyss to thread on. (You could stuff the nut into a stiff hose and try to get started also).
This is how I would replace the bow eye pad in an afternoon.
Just one idea to get the creative juices flowing.
[img]http://i33.tinypic.com/sm4qa0.jpg[/img]