Any ideas how to remove this difficult bolt.

Daydream believer said:
for a job that should take less than 5 minutes
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Unfortunately, should is the operative word I suspect the OP's already spent a lot more than 5 minutes on it already, not to mention that the swear box must be filling up nicely.

I'd go down the hatch route on the basis that there are other things in there that I'm going to need access to in the future, but I'd go for a big enough hatch to allow two handed access if the situation allows it.
 
Daydream believer said:
& take half a day to fit, for a job that should take less than 5 minutes .Then one still has to get 2 hands through the hole to hold nut & unscrew the screw
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Cut the hole for the hatch, then do the job before fitting the hatch surround - as then slightly more space and hopefully smoother edge
 
Thanks for all the advice. Some ideas I had not thought of.

Decision made, I am going to cut an access hole from the qurter berth. The reason I have decided this route is the plywood panel supporting the water tank will not be damaged in any way and when refitting the tank I can securely bolt the corner down. When full the 60 gallon water tank weighs 600lb, so keeping that securely fixed is important. Also if I ever need to remove the diesel tank, I can also access the corner bolt in the same position. The opening can be made any size I decide, rather than a fixed hatch size. The cover will be made using the cut out and an overlapping piece of 5.5mm plywood secured to it for the fixing screws to hold it in place. This will be covered with foam backed vinyl, which I have plenty, to match the rest of the quarter berth lining and the screws will be covered with vinyl covered caps. This will make it look like a professional job.

When it is finished I will post some photos.

Just as a further comment, I already have a hatch at the foot of the quarter berth to access the port aft quarter. It really is not quite big enough, so I may in the future decide to make it larger.
 
Concerto said:
Thanks for all the advice. Some ideas I had not thought of.

Decision made, I am going to cut an access hole from the qurter berth. The reason I have decided this route is the plywood panel supporting the water tank will not be damaged in any way and when refitting the tank I can securely bolt the corner down. When full the 60 gallon water tank weighs 600lb, so keeping that securely fixed is important. Also if I ever need to remove the diesel tank, I can also access the corner bolt in the same position. The opening can be made any size I decide, rather than a fixed hatch size. The cover will be made using the cut out and an overlapping piece of 5.5mm plywood secured to it for the fixing screws to hold it in place. This will be covered with foam backed vinyl, which I have plenty, to match the rest of the quarter berth lining and the screws will be covered with vinyl covered caps. This will make it look like a professional job.

When it is finished I will post some photos.

Just as a further comment, I already have a hatch at the foot of the quarter berth to access the port aft quarter. It really is not quite big enough, so I may in the future decide to make it larger.
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That is exactly how my access panels were made
FYI
I’ve even seen them Velcro’d but I use cupscrews and plastic caps or what is used elsewhere factory spec..
 
On my fulmar I was able to remove the bolt by undoing the nut using a ring spanner and by jamming a screwdriver under the head the prevented the bolt from turning
 
Well cutting the hole was no real problem as it is situated in a locker under the quarter berth. Just had to make sure I missed the main fuel line below the hole. The photo was taken after the tank was removed and the arrow shows where the fixing was located. You can also see the fuel tank stop cock and under the pipe where there is square shape is the fixing for the diesel tank. The cut out has had a layer of 5.5mm plywood glued to it and this will be screwed back in place once the tank has been refitted.

New access water tank 1000pix.jpg

You would have thought removing the tank would be easy now. What a pig of a job. The opening in the sail locker had been enlarged in the past, as this was not the original fuel tank. Unfortunately the fuel pipe for the Ebersparcher had been run along the plywood, this meant the top of the hole had to be opened further. It took a number of attempts with the multitool with a saw blade. Moving the tank emptied the final few pints of water out, luckily just missed my foot. Once moved to take it out via the sail locker hatch, I then found I had to remove the hatch cover. To make removing easier I used a rope to lift one corner and hold the main feed spout. This is what the tank looks like now it has seen the light of day.

IMG_3667 1000pix.jpg

The offending spout that is leaking is on the other side. So hopefully tomorrow I can get it repaired and can refit it. I have decided to replace the hoses, namely the main feed, the vent and the clear sight pipe with a red bead to show the amount of water in the tank.
 
Well done: you've made a neat job of that.

Given (a) that the tank has started to deteriorate and leak and (b) it is now out of the boat, have you considered simply replacing it? A lighter, plastic tank of a slightly different size and/or shape might make any future work significantly easier. Just a thought.
 
Thistle said:
Well done: you've made a neat job of that.

Given (a) that the tank has started to deteriorate and leak and (b) it is now out of the boat, have you considered simply replacing it? A lighter, plastic tank of a slightly different size and/or shape might make any future work significantly easier. Just a thought.
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The tank is sound. All that has happened is the weld on the outlet has rusted. The rest of the stainless tank is looking very good. When it is repaired, it will be pressure tested to ensure there are no other leaks.
 
LadyInBed said:
One Q
I assume you used a screwdriver to remove the screw, did it turn easily or was it hard work?
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I used a screwdriver and a spanner. It was still difficult with the access, would have been easier if I was left handed. Also working whilst lying down made it a bit difficult with limited space for my hands. The thread had a build up on dirt, so needed to be undone using the spanner and screwdriver over almost all of the thread. The bolt took about 8 minutes to undo even though it was only about 8 turns. Oh, I do love working on boats.
 
If it was an easy part to access, I’d be happy to have it repaired, but given that it’s such a pig to get out, I must admit I’d be thinking about putting in a plastic replacement. Is there an access panel on tank? Are you certain there’s no rust on the inside of that outlet?
 
fredrussell said:
If it was an easy part to access, I’d be happy to have it repaired, but given that it’s such a pig to get out, I must admit I’d be thinking about putting in a plastic replacement. Is there an access panel on tank? Are you certain there’s no rust on the inside of that outlet?
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A fellow Fulmar owner had a similar problem and his was just a weld. Probably find out in the next day or two. If it had been a mild steel tank, then yes it would have been changed.
 
Concerto said:
A fellow Fulmar owner had a similar problem and his was just a weld. Probably find out in the next day or two. If it had been a mild steel tank, then yes it would have been changed.
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I had much the same on the stainless water tank in my Bav 37 - made in Greece to replace the failed plastic original. Weld corroded around the inlet - hidden of course right in the bows. Only found out when we filled it ready for the trip back across the Med. Promptly dumped most of the 150l into the bilge during the rough first day out of Corfu. Fortunately there was another 150l in the aft tank. Took it out when I got back to UK - massive job as the nice Greeks had wedged it in with wood blocks and then foamed it. Took me a week on and off to get it out. Had it welded up with a plate around the leaking inlet and did the same around the outlet. Had brackets welded on so that I could bolt it in. Glassed in a new platform and mini bulkhead for the brackets. Proper job. Very secure and easy to remove should there be further problems.
 
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