A couple of the stainless steel life line posts have bent near the base. Can these be bent back into place and how?
Stainless steel life line posts bent
- Thread starter oceansail0
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While you could kind of un-bend them if it is a small amount bigger bends kink the tube and they would crack very easy in the future
Stainless steel is quite forgiving of being bent so long as the bend doesn't result in a kink. The most difficult part of the task is holding the tube and applying the force you need. You could tear the base out of the deck.
Remove the stainless steel life line post, proper name is "Stanchion" from the boat.
Get a short piece of black iron pipe about 6 inches long, slightly larger then the stanchion. Available in big box store like Homedeport.
Clamp the pipe securly in a heavy duty vise on a bench.
Fill the stanchion wilt fine sand, finer the better and plug the end if necessary. If the black iron pipe is horizontal or slopped slightly downwards you don't need to plug the sand.
Heat the stanchion with a plumber's blow torch until red hot. Insert into the black iron pipe and you can bend the stanchion gradually a little at a time. Keep heating and bending eventually you'll get it right. Wear very heavy work glove. It's hot!
Polish the stanchion after it cooled to remove the blue tint.
BTW, never count on any stanchion to support you in a fall. It is a last resort thing.
Get a short piece of black iron pipe about 6 inches long, slightly larger then the stanchion. Available in big box store like Homedeport.
Clamp the pipe securly in a heavy duty vise on a bench.
Fill the stanchion wilt fine sand, finer the better and plug the end if necessary. If the black iron pipe is horizontal or slopped slightly downwards you don't need to plug the sand.
Heat the stanchion with a plumber's blow torch until red hot. Insert into the black iron pipe and you can bend the stanchion gradually a little at a time. Keep heating and bending eventually you'll get it right. Wear very heavy work glove. It's hot!
Polish the stanchion after it cooled to remove the blue tint.
BTW, never count on any stanchion to support you in a fall. It is a last resort thing.
The sillyness of making bases that allow the stations to work all the time for there intended purpose as well as silly stuff like using them when docking
What I tell my guests is they are there as a visual indication of where the deck ends and the ocean begins. Safety is provided by the cabintop handrails. Further, the path forward is INSIDE the shrouds.
Lifelines
Ken
Yep, I unhooked the gate the other day and when I swung it open the other end fell to the deck. I wasn't leaning on it, but could have been. Metal fatigue at the end fitting. Who knows, it may have saved someones life by failing at the slip. I don't count on them.
Ken
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