Stanchion replacement

[NYSail]

Had this originally in the Pearson site, but figure this is a universal question.

My stanchions are completely beat up.... prior owners must have had a few bumps... cracked bases, bent etc....

So am replacing them all with fixed bases with removable shafts.... I am doing this so self winter storage will be easier ($500 to shrink wrap). Tarp hangs nicely without them. Also, I was under the shrink wrapped cover one year while the wind was blowing and I watched the stanchions moving all over... can't be good.

So the stanchions come in 90 degree, 11 degree etc bends in the base. Looking at the originals it appears they bend slightly but not at a full 11 degrees..... Any opinions? Deck is not a steep pitch.

Also any opinions on the removalble shafts... pro's and con's from experience.

Thanks!!

 

[Ed Schenck]

Have one at the welding shop right now. Pretty sure it is 14 degrees off perpendicular.

 

[Alec]

Could it be that they are angled in so that they don't stick out past the rubrail & catch on pilings as they go past? I know of several boats that have that problem and it is a real nuisance.

Removable stanchions are great. Makes putting on a winter cover much easier.

 

[NYSail]

Are the removables wobbly?

 

[Ron20324]

When my B323 was almost new, I found a mid-ship stanchion was bent inward- by some force unknown. Also, one lifeline was outboard of the shrouds, but the other was between the shoulds. Sailing a crooked ship, I was. I looked at all 4 stanchions, plus the two gate ones, and found all of the upper ends were all outboard of the toe rail. This meant if you were against the lifeline, you were already "outboard/overboard" plus, they were fair game for pilings and rafting with other boats. I took two to Kato and had them put two different degrees of bend just above where the base would be. After fitting the 2 in the best of 4 places, I took the other two to be bent. Each of the 4 had to be bent differing degrees. They are all inboard now, and I'm trying to figure a way to do the inverted-vee gate stanchions.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

Most stanchion bases come in straight (0-degree) or 5-degree angles (85 degrees inside). This is close enough to approximate the deck angle. If anything they should NOT stick out past the rail.

The best way I know to keep removable stanchions from wobbling in the shafts is:
1. wrap them in electrical tape
2. through-bolt them. This last is crucial. DO NOT rely on the stupid set screws. The set screws are hardened steel, plated, or else a higher grade of SS; but the thing is that they do NOT adequately dimple the stanchion shaft itself. Nine times out of 10 they only add a little friction. A strong guy might pull them right out. A strong wave WILL. The ONLY way this is adequate is if you drill right through the set-screw hole in the base, through the stanchion, and through the other side.

You MIGHT get away with drilling from the other side IF you can manage to align your holes with the existing threads in the base, then slide in the 1/4-20 machine screw, use thread-locker, and make it into the threads there. In practice this tends to be futile and frustrating. The BEST way is to use a 1/4-20 hex-head cap screw and a locknut. Usually about 1-3/4" will work. (Forget 'ugly' -- this is STRONG.)

This is DEFINITELY an application for nylon-insert locknuts, not acorn nuts even though you think you'd like to avoid those raw-looking threads. Drill so the screw's raw end will be angled as far away from bare toes as possible. Then apply white tape as you usually would with turnbuckles.

With luck and muscle you may be able to dent the base just a little, tightening the fit a bit. But the 'wobble' is not the end of the world. It will serve to remind you that lifelines are NOT your last chance for safety and that safe practices rather than safe hardware will ultimately win the day... and save your life.

The single best reason for using separate bases and shafts for stanchions is to avoid wracking the deck when you take any kind of impact. A welded shaft-base unit will work its mounting holes in the deck and admit water below (bad) or into the core (worse). A bolted (even wobbly) assembly will yield before it wracks the deck and the shaft will crease over the base before doing further damage to the deck. This would be MUCH easier to fix and easier to live with till it is fixed than a welded assembly which would leave holes in the deck.

I replaced all Diana's welded ones with the bolted kind for this reason primarily.

 

[Steve Dion]

Garhauer Marine makes their stanchions with and without removable bases. The stock ones run $30 for the base and $30 for the stanchion.

http://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=44

 

[NYSail]

Steve.. those are the ones I am looking at. The bases are large and the price is right.

I agree Diana... I hate when I see people grab the stanchion as if it has unbreakable strength. I was waiting to get fuel last year... circling until it was my turn to pull up to the dock. I watched a dock boy grab a boats stanchion as he came in hard and bam.... broke off with a chunk of deck. Ouch. maybe if it did give slightly, the guy would have quickly realized that ain't the way to stop the boat.

Thanks for all the great advice guys!!

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

NYS-- the dock boy who ripped out a bit of the deck actually vindicates my oft-reiterated point about backing plates and the avoidance of all silicone as well... but thanks for the vote of confidence

 

[LuzSD]

We came in one day a little off normal and a new neighbor came over to "help" us in. He reached over and yanked the starboard stanchion and pulled! I could not help myself and said "thanks but please don’t use the stanchions like that" and finished getting us in and settled. He just gave me a terribly hurt look and stormed back to his boat. My husband suggested that I probably ruined any relationship we might have with this couple so I slunk over to their boat and apologized, said I really appreciate the thought and his help but that the stanchion is already a little loose from people using it as a cane while boarding and we have a leak there. His reply was very curt and he said........"That’s what they are for!!" He was not at all interested in forgiving me and it really stayed that way for about a year ...then recently they were gone, moved to another marina I imagine.

I did not think it was such an odd thing to NOT want someone to use the stanchion in that manner and have felt bad since. I feel better now after reading these posts. Thanks ~