Cabin top slide removal

[gesoriano]

Has anyone had any experience removing the cabin roof slides on their Precision 23?  I have the Starboard side slide that has popped its most forward screw and needs to be repaired.  The other screw holes could use refurbished, as well.  The forward screws aren't through bolted into the cabin but, the aft-most screw may be.  My boat is a 1990 in great shape with a pristine head liner.  I wouldn't want to have to pull the corner down to access the nut.  My question is, is the aft screw near the cabin entryway nutted?

While I'm at it, I may just replace both slides with Plasteak and be done with Cetol maintenance.

Thanks,
Gene

[JGrahamK]

I had to replace one of the white plastic (Starboard) roof slides on my P23 and Precision still had them in stock. I recall all of the screws on my slides being the same; essentially a stainless steel wood screw.  None were through-bolted. Not all of the screw holes were tight, which is probably why my slide popped off and broke. I just shot some epoxy in the old holes and redrilled new holes from above through the replacement piece. The holes on the new piece didn't line up anyway.
I take your comment about Cetol to suggest that you're considering making replacement parts with real teak wood. If you're talking about making new ones out of Plasteak, I'd say go for it. I would expect that will do better than real teak in this application.

[tjspiel]

I have a P-18 and removed the slides a few years ago to re-bed them. The boat is at the lake now so working from memory, there are no nuts. I believe there were 3 wood screws on each that just screwed into the fiberglass and a 4th (aft-most) that screwed from the cabin into the slides.

Mine are teak and the screws are counter-sunk and then the holes are filled with a teak plug.

It's possible I have that backwards, 3 screwed from inside the cabin into the slide and one from the slide into the fiberglass. I hope to sail today and can verify. Either way, no nuts.

Everything on my boat that's bolted through the cabin top has a very visible washer-nut-cap combo that's very visible. No need to tear up the headliner.

[gesoriano]

Thanks guys.  This is very helpful.

Gene