replacing caprail

[letterman]

the boat - 37" IrwinThe problem - water leaking in from stanchions and possibly screw holes from screws holding down the caprail.Secondary problem - no money to buy new stanchions.A plate to screw the stanchions to the caprail is 3" from the bottom of the stanchion. The caprail is 1" high, the bullworks underneath is 1/4". This means 1 3/4" of stanchion is below, exposed. Ted Irwin did not build a box to house this extra material. The caprail is also screwed to the bullworks. More holes.Solutions? Remove the caprail (the mast is down, which makes it easier). Glass up the top of the bullworks sealing every hole. Lay down a new caprail (out of the cheap to me decking from HD) in 5200. Add a 6" long by the caprail width and depth piece where the stachions will go. Add another caprail on top of this. Then, drill out and install the stanchions in the 3" of caprail. I saw this design on an old Owens and it looks great. Or remove the caprail. Glass over the bullworks top (as above) sealing all the holes. Lay down a new 1" caprail in 5200 with stanchion holes predrilled. Cut off the excess material on the stanchions and screw them in with 1" screws, so as to not penetrate the new glasswork.The chainplate heads are just above the present caprail. The jib slides (which I never adjust and can't think of the proper name) are screwed on the caprail amidships, running about 8'.

 

[r.w.landau]

letterman, small chunks are easier to chew than

big bites. You have fed us an elephant and qualified it to.Narrow the problem and post more than one to keep it simple for us. Thanksr.w.landau

 

[Ross]

Letterman, think about the stanchions as if they

were prybars. You are planning to trust life and limb to 1 inch screws holding a 3 foot long prybar down?. Stanchions must be through bolted with substantial backing plates.

 

[letterman]

responses

I am trying to stop the leaks. Main goal. Stop leaks.Ted Irwin left very little room to thru bolt the stanchions. I did a few and couldn't get a washer on a few of the bolts, it was that tight.Nothing is accessible. Everything is behind a floor or worse. By worse, I mean walls in the heads, the cabinets in the galley, and much worse. Thru bolting is not a very good option.I know they are prybars, which is why I think if I raise the caprail or toerail to 3" thick where the stanchions go, I can solve most of the problems.Next, I went to our Commodores Ball tonight and someone suggested I replace the stanchion bases and get the ones where the stanchion poles drop into the base and are held there with set screws.

 

[Ross]

I had an idea that might help.

If you are adding to the cap rail and planning to fasten the stanchions there, could you install carriage bolts from below on the new pieces and fasten the stanchions in place with acorn nuts? It would be stronger than wood screws and could spread the load over a larger area. Just a thought with a not very good picture of the way the deck is configured.