I have a Catalina 27 with a bent bow pulpit that I would like to replace or repair. My understanding is that repair requires special expertise and equipment. Prices on CatalinaDirect look very high and do not look like the right bow pulpit. Does anyone know of a good supplier (new or used)?
Bow pulpit for '75 Catalina 27
- Thread starter Louminator
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Can you post a pick of how its bent? I just posted a response on the question about bow sprits, where I admitted that I had to repair our bent bow pushpit from Hurricane Sandy storm damage. The upper outer bow rail caught on a piling while it was shifting around in her slip & bent the horizontal rail upwards to a 45 degree angle. Looked terrible. I got out my blow torch & had to heat up both sides of the heavy gauge tubular steel to red hot - then I banged the rail back down into position with a padded sledge hammer. It takes some real heat & power to bend this heavy s.s. tubing. But it can be done. I had to use a Dremel tool grinder to smooth & polish where I heated the tubing up afterwords to repair where the steel was starting to bubble & pit form the torch heat. Guess I had the torch tip too close to the metal. But I bent it back into position myself. If you can't rent a blow torch setup, then you'll have to pay a welder to do it. But its usually cheaper to repair then replace. You'll get sticker shock from Catalina Direct for a new pushpit. Likely $800 - 1k or more. If yours is too mangled to repair, then I would hunt for a salvaged one online. I bet there are more then a few totalled C 27's & many yachts that were trashed by Sandy, but still have good parts that are salvageable. Also if your bow is pre 1978 it will have a gentle sloped curvature - the later models had a more angular appearance. Good luck with yours.
I am going to repair or replace it before summer. I have an upper bound on the cost (many hundreds $), but I am seeking the best price for one in good condition.
Thanks! I definitely have the older type. I do not have a good photo handy, but the damage is similar to what you describe which a 45 degree tweak. I am attaching my best one.
I will troll around for salvage yards.
I will troll around for salvage yards.
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Canal St. Marina Chicago,Il. had one. They just have stuff hanging around that's been collected from abandoned boats, so they might be reasonable. Call Eric
312) 656-2326.
Good luck,
Joel H.
312) 656-2326.Good luck,
Joel H.
I had similar damage to my C27 bow pulpit although probably not as extensive as yours. My damage was the top, forward loop was pushed up with the tubing kinking just forward of the forward, vertical tube. I eventually found a welder that does a lot of business with marinas and boat owners. I found him by talking to a canvass shop that operates in an area with a lot of marinas and boat dealers near Lake Erie, where I sail. He charged $175 to fix that bend. I couldn't tell there was even any damage after the fix. A new one from Catalina Direct was $575 plus shipping which for me would have added quite a bit, probably a couple hundred dollars from California to Ohio. This welder operated with a mobile welding truck but I took the pulpit off the boat for him to work on.
Finding one on derelict boats may be a good approach. If I didn't find the welder I used I may have tried getting one off an old boat. There were a few of these yards in my area and I asked one marina what they would charge for a pulpit of one of these boats and he said $100 - $150. Only problem with that is that it wouldn't be an exact replacement for one designed for a C27. That wouldn't necessarily bother me as long as it was close and fit fairly well.
Finding one on derelict boats may be a good approach. If I didn't find the welder I used I may have tried getting one off an old boat. There were a few of these yards in my area and I asked one marina what they would charge for a pulpit of one of these boats and he said $100 - $150. Only problem with that is that it wouldn't be an exact replacement for one designed for a C27. That wouldn't necessarily bother me as long as it was close and fit fairly well.
I was just curious as to what is causing them to bend. Mine has a slight dip due to the PO lowering the mast on to it. There is a lot of strain on the pulpit due to the mechanical advantage that the mast has on it. It is supporting way more than half the weight of the mast. I have seen where others have used a board that straddles the pulpit at the place where the vertical supports are located. I use an extension ladder to support mine from the bed of my truck.
I had the bow pulpit on my Cat 27 replaced at around $600 two years ago. It was beyond repair. I might add that you make sure you repair any fiberglass/gelcoat cracks since this usually comes with any bent stachion or pulpit.
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