Rear pulpit modification

[fred1diver]

Hello everyone.
I was thinking about modifying my res pulpit to have an easier access from the swim platform, what do you all recommend?
my thinking was cutting the center bar and adding hinges and a way to fasten it to the other side or
Just cutting it and installing either dynema to make a gate?
what do you all think?

 

[Caboteur]

Picture?

 

[fred1diver]

This is the only pic I have at the moment of the aft pulpit

 

[jssailem]

I‘d cut her using a pipe cutter with a ss cutting wheel, and add an angle brace to support the pulpit. I like the use of a Dyneema gate. I use two on my side gates. Work great.

 

[Caboteur]

I had ss wire and pelican on my c&c landfall 38. There were angle braces to support when open. It will make access a lot easier.
You should also find a way to lower your ladder from the water in the advent you should fall overboard.

 

[fred1diver]

Do you have a pic of the angle braces, I just can’t imagine them

 

[Terry Cox]

To keep my pulpit rail aesthetically clean looking, I would likely go with a matching set of these: Top Caps Extra

Two of the right size to match your tubing on each end, one side as a hinge, the other as a latch of sorts using a SS pin/clevis.

 

[Caboteur]

Sorry about that, there was no angle brace... I sold the boat fifteen years ago. There is only the intermediate tubing.

You can see the line to pull the swim ladder down from the water just beside the flagstaff.

 

[jssailem]

I would attach a piece of straight SS pipe to the vertical stanchion with something like this

rotate it so it aligns with the pulpit horizontal toward the side of your boat, and fit this on the end of a piece of ss pipe as the base.

Through bolt the base to the deck. It will brace against the vertical stern pulpit from being bent by someone grabbing the side life lines.

 

[Terry Cox]

Through bolt the base to the deck. It will brace against the vertical stern pulpit from being bent by someone grabbing the side life lines.

Good idea, John.

 

[fred1diver]

I would attach a piece of straight SS pipe to the vertical stanchion with something like this
View attachment 212952
rotate it so it aligns with the pulpit horizontal toward the side of your boat, and fit this on the end of a piece of ss pipe as the base.
View attachment 212953
Through bolt the base to the deck. It will brace against the vertical stern pulpit from being bent by someone grabbing the side life lines.

Not sure I follow where exactly you mean, at the new opening (not yet done) or at the front of the aft pulpit?

 

[jssailem]

I understood you were cutting the center piece out between the two stanchions.
This would open the pulpit for your ladder access. You would use a dyneema gate when not accessing through the gap. With the center bar missing the stanchions would be vulnerable to being pulled towards the side of the boat if a crewman fell against the lifeline. The brace would attach to the vertical stanchion facing out towards the side. It would brace the stanchion from being bent by crew.

 

[fred1diver]

Ok, now I follow, does it help if my stanchion that the lifeline attaches is angled?

 

[fred1diver]

Or would making a gate out of the cut portion with a hinge of some sort and with a fastener to secure it to the other end be better?

 

[fred1diver]

 

[FastOlson]

That continuous top rail adds a lot of strength to the stock rail system. Considering that someone boarding, whether from dinghy or from swimming, is going to pull their (200#) up and inward, you need to restore structure to the rail system to take that strain. I would double brace both sides.
(Having socketed bases rather that welded bases is already less-sturdy than all-welded rail systems. This was a common rail assembly system in the 70's, and nothing to sneeze at for its time, but later rail builders used all-welds, which were stronger.)

 

[MBroderick]

This is what I use on my 33.5. Two Gemini split connectors and a length od ss tubing. I like this better than lifeline or dynema as it's much more solid to lean against.

 

[fred1diver]

How do you open it?

 

[MBroderick]

Each side has a quick pin:

 

[Terry Cox]

Two Gemini split connectors and a length od ss tubing.

My kinda guy. Looks aesthetically very nice.