Replacing compression post

Feb 15, 2021
33
Santana 21 indiana
My compression post is made out of wood currently and it sits on top of another piece of wood that the keel winch connects to. The post itself is ok, It is old and cracked and needs to be replaced anyway. The piece of wood that the keel wench sits on is split. It looks like that it has been repaired several times. I want to remove all the wood and replace it with metal post. The bottom plate would also be metal that the winch attaches too. I know that won't split with the weight of the keel.
 
Mar 2, 2019
433
Oday 25 Milwaukee
Should I find myself in your predicament ,here are the steps I'd take .
Measure all dimensions and make as accurate a drawing as I could . Before I lifted a single tool .While metal has many attributes that plain old wood can't compare too ,wood does have some advantages .Any metal I'd use would be powder coated ,stainless steel or aluminum.
Different metals would not be allowed to come in contact with each other .Metal can corrode internally whe e you may not be able to monitor it
The woo currently in your boat is probable at least 30 plus years old . No reason to believe that a replacement piece of wood ,saturated in epoxy wont outlast you .Wood is also forgiving were metal may puncture or create fractures from stressed points of contact .
The winch is not really lifting the full weight of the keel . Only a small percentage . The keel pivot pin generally supports most of the weight .
 
Feb 15, 2021
33
Santana 21 indiana
I guess my main concern is where the winch mounts to the wood it keeps splitting there. And maybe metal isn’t the best option maybe a different type of wood is. This is what I had in mind. Not drawn to scale. I am not opposed to putting wood back in.
 

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Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
How old is your boat? A really stout piece of white oak or hickory would do the trick and if encapsulated in penatrating epoxy followed by varnish, it would probably outlast your boat. If you have the tools and know-how to fabricate in metal and just want metal, go for it but if it were me, I'd go with wood because my shop already has the needed tools and I'm more comfortable working with wood.
 
Feb 15, 2021
33
Santana 21 indiana
How old is your boat? A really stout piece of white oak or hickory would do the trick and if encapsulated in penatrating epoxy followed by varnish, it would probably outlast your boat. If you have the tools and know-how to fabricate in metal and just want metal, go for it but if it were me, I'd go with wood because my shop already has the needed tools and I'm more comfortable working with wood.
Either one is fine for me. The boat is 44 years old. I will try oak or hickory.