Stanchion Options 83-87 Hunters

[Steve Dion]

I took some photos of some alternative options for those of you who have the extrusion type mounts for your stanchions on the toe rail. The early boats used an extrusion that screwed into the toe rail. It appears that the later boats used a more traditional stanchion.

 

[Rick Sylvester]

It's always good to have options

Thanks Steve.

I have a couple of comments.

First, the stanchion with the feet would require a lot of holes drilled into the deck if you did all the stanchions. Unfortunately, most owners (or yards) would simply drill the hole, squirt in some sealant and call it good. There's a lot of potential for leaks there.

A solution (I think) would be to overdrill the deck, fill the void between deck and liner with thickened epoxy then drill (and tap?) the epoxy without completely penetrating the liner. This would eliminate any path for a leak. Alternatively, you could thru-drill the epoxy and thru-bolt/back-plate. Any leak would be immediately evident and relatively easy to deal with.

I have to say that those toe rail bases are way stronger than they look. The stanchion will bend long before the base will deform (don't ask.) I had a local machine shop look at it. They said they could machine it up from stock for about $100 a pop. Pricey, but not out of the question.

 

[Steve Dion]

Rick:

I agree with you 100%. The feet really need to be over drilled & filled to prevent potential problems.

On the other hand I would NOT spend 100 for something similar to those extrusions. You can get a complete stanchion from Garhauer for about $60. It may be a little more labor, but considering the number of mounts that you would need, that is out of line.

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Yeah, if you were going to

replace all of them, cost could be an issue, although, as I said, I think the extrusion design has some advantages which to some might be worth the extra money. I might step up, dollar-wise, to keep from drilling more holes in the deck. I have too many as it is.

My brother-in-law used to be in the aluminum extrusion business. If I think of it, I'll ask him what it would cost to make the die and do a small run. Then maybe contact Phil . . . hmmm.