H-21 hardware

My old H-21SE has a screw loose (so do I). It's a round head 1/4-20 stainless machine screw that runs horizontally at rub rail height. One at the end of each cross bar. It came loose enough to get bent just a bit and will not re-thread.
This screw does not show in the parts manual or assembly drawings. I thought to grind a taper on the tip of the screw to give it a better chance to get started in the threads. It would be helpful if I knew what this screw holds. Otherwise I need to dissassemble the crossbars and hull to see in there.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

That screw threads into the aluminum cross bar insert-fixture. I cannot recall why it is there though. Doesn't seem like it would really hold anything. As I recakk it was a retrofit for awhile. I would imagine that the aluminum is corroded. A size large screw should work. May have to tap first.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Thanks for the quick reply Matt. I hadn't thought about corrosion. Drilling out to the next larger size and re-tapping should work fine.
BTW My wife and I love our boat. We use it for day sailing and have rigged it similar to the Hobie 21SC with 2 hp Outboard mounted off the rear crossbar with the cheata bracket, forward tramp mostly for rigging the chute, and rectangular hatches for in-hull stowage. We are light crewed with only two so I had a reefing point added to the main by Sperry Sails in Marion MA. They have done a great job keeping the original mylar #100 Main maintained. We also sail a Hood chute on the original rigging setup for the 21SE (no bowsprit). Using a chute scoop we can manage it with two crewing but mostly in light breezes. The boat is incredibly fast and seaworthy with the light crew. In the Cape Cod Bay area where we usually sail we are often the only boat sailing on light wind days. I added shroud extenders and can pull the boat over in shallow water to get at the masthead but have never capsized to test our ability to right with only two. I expect it would be OK but we might opt for the VHF we carry for assistance.

A kite on hobie, got me thinking now Just a bit of welding and, voila, a supercharged hobie 16

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"I'm just tryin' to keep everything in balance, Woodrow. You do more work than you got to, so it's my obligation to do less." Augustus 'Gus' McCrae