Stanchion Repair

[Johnb]

Every now and then the topic of stanchion replacement/repair comes up. Due to circumstances I would rather not recount, both of the units in the attached pictures were bent at the base and one was cracked about 2/3 of the way around.

It cost $120 to have both restored to how they are in the pictures. That has to be cheaper than new and also they are an exact fit to the toe rail, being original. FWIW repair is a viable option.

 

[Steve Dion]

John: Have you checked the HOW store for replacements. Personally I am not a big fan of repairs like this but who knows.

You can also check with Garhauer Marine.

 

[rardiH36]

John:

The repair looks better than new. Being just across the bay from you, for my future reference, where/who did the work? Do you know the process they used to restore the surface to it's mirror finish?

 

[FastOlson]

John, your "new" stanchions look Great!
FWIW...
I had several bent stanchions straightened and added gate braces, and then side-braced the center stanchions. The SS fab shop that did the work buffed them all (!) to a mirror polish. No more traces of rust, either. A high level of polish really discourages surface corrosion. We also had a bent pulpit straightened (the damage was from a prior owner, like the stanchions...)
All this was lots less expensive than buying new. Also, it's darned hard to find the exact same taper for those stanchions in the market these days.
You'll find that a good repair person can weld up problems and buff 'em out to where no one (!) will ever see where the repair happened.
If you want to see the project picture link for the brace solution, go to:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?3371-Stanchion-Bracing

Cheers,
Loren

 

[tanyasharma]

Replace it if the damage is big!

I would always recommend a replacement - if the bend is too much... but for a small bend or damage.. repair is the best option...

 

[Johnb]

John:

The repair looks better than new. Being just across the bay from you, for my future reference, where/who did the work? Do you know the process they used to restore the surface to it's mirror finish?

It was done at Svendsens.

 

[rardiH36]

JohnB:

Thanks. Been there many times ...

The only problem I see with Svendsens work is that all your other non-damaged stanchions will now look stodgy/old in comparison!

I don't have any damage (knock on wood) to my 1980 made stanchions or pulpits. My Cherubini Hunter 36 has the same stanchion base configuration as you have pictured. Your new mirror finish looks so good that if I were really motivated (not quite there yet) to get a new boat look on my deck, removing them for Svendsons to polish would be tempting! But for now, I'll just continue with my Spotless Stainless regime every six months or so. It doesn't restore a mirror finish, but Spotless does wonders to remove all traces of rust/tarnish even in deep recesses that can't be hand rubbed.


rardi