Opening Up Boat Nail Fastenings...

Someone asked me the other day how to pull steel boat nails in a more or less non-destructive way...the method I have used is to a have a fire extinguisher handy and a small inverter welder. Open up the fastener - inspect and clean the head off - then tack weld a small carriage bolt onto the head of the fastening and use a slide hammer to extract the nail. A 1/16" rod is usually small enough to slide by the carriage bolt - put the ground on the carriage bolt - touch it to the head of the fastening and work fast. This approach works best with thicker planks - thinner planks and frames I would probably avoid.