I have a bent stanchion from storm damage. It is bent about 15 degrees starting about 3 inches above the base. Do I need to take it off or can I just try pulling it back in place.
How to straighten a bent stanchion
- Thread starter Mike48
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Don't do it !! You may break the deck.
Replace or take it off and try. Most likely it won't work anyway. The tube has been weaken. Bend it the opposite way may crack it.
Replace or take it off and try. Most likely it won't work anyway. The tube has been weaken. Bend it the opposite way may crack it.
Definitely remove it before you try to straighten it. Stainless steel is very forgiving. You will need very strong attachment points to be able to apply suffient force to bend it back. Try drilling a hole in an oak timber at least a six foot 4x4. Make the hole as deep as the short straight section. Stand on the timber and with another piece of pipe slipped over the stanchion apply force parallel to the long axis of the timber.
Some few years back I bent 5 out of the 6 stanchions on my 1990 H-33.5 due to my own stupidity. I put a large tarp over boom and OVER the lifelines down to near deck level. Well, the winter winds side loaded the tarp and bent the stanchions - one of them actually tore at the bend. I removed all 6 and brought them to a local metal and wending shop and asked if they could straighten them out, and if they did stainless steel welding. The answer was yes - no problem. I marked the GOOD one as a sample, and the matched the bend on all the others. They wire brushed, welded, ground, and buffed the torn one. You have to look very closely to see the repair area. They only charged me $80 for work on all 5 bent units. I was very pleased. No problems with any of them since. Oh, and I don't do the stupid stuff with the winter tarps any more.
Oh, a second thought. The screws that mounted them were 1/4-20 machine SS screws that thread into a metal plate under the deck surface. In removing them, press down hard with a Phillips Screwdriver while putting a pliers on the handle of the screwdriver. When replacing them dip them into a tube of Boatlife Life Seal after putting a bedding of Life Seal under the bases. Let it ooze out ans wipe up surplus. Snug down the screws the same way you remove them Life should be good.
Viagra! It will be perfectly straight in no time.
But seriously, the ease of straightening will depend on if it is a sharper short and possibly kinked bend or a slow sweeping one. A slow sweep would be easy, but straightening a short sharp bend will weaken the steel and not be strong when you need it most or even break during the straightening. Heating may help during the process, but would discolor the steel.
A picture would help those who work with metals to advise you best.
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Sorry your picture didn't load first look I had. In my opinion, that is too sharp a bend to safely straighten and retain the original metal strength, as it was already subject to heating during the weld of the support piece. I personally would be looking to replace it if I was in your deck shoes.
But seriously, the ease of straightening will depend on if it is a sharper short and possibly kinked bend or a slow sweeping one. A slow sweep would be easy, but straightening a short sharp bend will weaken the steel and not be strong when you need it most or even break during the straightening. Heating may help during the process, but would discolor the steel.
A picture would help those who work with metals to advise you best.
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Sorry your picture didn't load first look I had. In my opinion, that is too sharp a bend to safely straighten and retain the original metal strength, as it was already subject to heating during the weld of the support piece. I personally would be looking to replace it if I was in your deck shoes.
You can get two 2x4s and some c-clamps, clamp one or two 2x4s to the bottom of the stanchion (make sure the clamps have rubber feet or use a rag or something to prevent scratching the stainless), then use the other c-clamp towards the top of the stanchion to pull it back straight towards the 2x4s.
Hunter is a pretty well made boat. I would think it would handle being straightened by pulling it back???
I did that on my Clipper Marine 32 aft cabin. I traded stanchions to a set with double life lines. After I had the different set all glued and bolted into place including backing plates, I noticed one was bent. I took a chance and pulled it to where I needed it to be. I mean I really pulled. Nothing broke, no bad evil sounds. Nothing. Was that the brilliant thing to do? Looking back, no, but covered in sweat after all the work changing six of them, the action was pretty much autopilot. . Lol
I did that on my Clipper Marine 32 aft cabin. I traded stanchions to a set with double life lines. After I had the different set all glued and bolted into place including backing plates, I noticed one was bent. I took a chance and pulled it to where I needed it to be. I mean I really pulled. Nothing broke, no bad evil sounds. Nothing. Was that the brilliant thing to do? Looking back, no, but covered in sweat after all the work changing six of them, the action was pretty much autopilot. . Lol
Applying a "C" clamp to a round surface is the most unlikely success story for the day.
I have heated my stanchions more times than I care to mention, and every time they come back as perfect as I would expect. I would not use a propane torch though, there would not be enough heat there to do the necessary heating, find a small bottled set of acetelyene torches, heat up stanchion about 3 inches above and below bend, then pull in required direction to counter act bend. After it is reshaped, take some emery cloth and sand pipe to get rid of heat marks. Walla!!!!!
I wrapped a sock (dry) around the base of the stantion just below the bend. Around the sock I used a really big pipe wrench. I used blocking to fix the end of the pipe wrench to the deck and had my son sit on the end of the wrench. I slid a larger pipe over the top of the station and within seconds I had a straight stantion and you could not tell it was ever bent.
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