Life-Line Stanchions - Pulled Out - 2003 Hunter 326

[Breezy1]

I guess my shrink wrap was catching too much wind this winter. Two stanchions have lifted off of the rail. Two screw heads were broken and the other two are 1/4" inch or more pulled out. I used a scope to see what's under the rail below and there are no backing plates or nuts. The screws are machine screws not a lag type screw. Does anyone know how I should go about fixing this? I don't want to tear it off until I have a plan. Maybe the nuts or a plate with nuts are embedded into the fiberglass? I can't be the only one to ever have had this problem. Thank you in advance!

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Hunter often embeds a piece of metal in the fiberglass that's tapped for the bolt. I've had a stanchion break due to water pooling on a tarp as well as fenders connected to the top of the stanchion instead of the bottom

 

[jssailem]

Sad to say,
it was a Breezy Michigan winter.
Maintenance needed to sail the waters of Mishigami.

 

[rgranger]

IF do you have an embedded aluminum plate under your stanchion (very likely) You could take a tap and die set and thread a slightly larger bolt Using the existing hole and then put the stanchion back in the same place

 

[jdrutten]

For the snapped heads, i would remove the stanchion base in hopes of being able to grab the remaining screw shank with vice grips or other pliers to unscrew it. If you can’t crab with pliers you’ll havve to use a screw extractor.

For the other screws, are they stripped out or anything? Any reason you can’t just screw them back in?

Replace damaged screws with appropriately sized new stainless steel screws. Probably 1/4” screws, 1-1/2” long.. Rebed with your favorite bedding compound and Bob’s your uncle.

 

[American_Mainsail]

This same thing happened to my boat over the winter. We had a seriously windy winter here in the Northeast.

It was exceedingly easy to fix and was one of the few boat projects I’ve done that went off without a hitch.

There’s an aluminum plate glassed into the deck that is tapped to receive those screws. I backed them out by taking the stanchion off and gripping the remaining shank with vice grips. It turned right out (I was ready for a big fight). I took the remainder of the bolt to the hardware store to match it with new, stainless bolts.

I cleaned up/chamfered the bolt holes to prep for sealant with one of those conical abrasive bits for a drill. Then I have the whole area underneath the stanchions a general cleaning with some light sandpaper, finished with rubbing alcohol.

I put a little oil on the threads of the new bolts to prevent seizing in the future. Then, I bed the new hardware with butyl tape and voila.

I think that bedding stanchions is a great application for butyl tape since the joint tends to move more than your average watertight joint due to the nature of them holding up a safety fence.

 

[JamesG161]

I fixed mine using a backing plate of 1/4 inch thick Starboard [1 inch wide by 4 inches long] kind of like a Washer to spread the load.

Then used a Stainless Steel Washer new Nut to pull the Stanchion Tight again.

Jim...

 

[Rick D]

You sure got a bunch of mixed and unhelpful replies to your post on FB. The only thing I'd add is to suggest you use an impact wrench when removing the screws. I used a socket wrench with an allen-head socket and took the head right off. I drilled with a reverse-twist drill to remove the screw shanks and they came right out. (I was hit by another boat which had wrapped his prop. I had a local body shop straighten the stanchion.)