Stanchions on an O'Day 28

[dfp51]

Looking for a little help on what I hope is a stupid question. We are getting some deck work done to repair some soft spots on our boat, and in order to avoid a similar problem in the future, I plan on "repotting" my deck intrusions over the off season. My current problem is that the nut end of some of the life line stanchions (two or three on each side of the salon) are covered up by a wooden strip that runs the length of the salon, basically above the shelving. The wood is not fastened, and appears to be just sitting in a track.

I assumed that I could just jigger with it and it would pop out, but after playing with it a bit I can't seem to manipulate it in a way to remove it without breaking it. Has anyone done this? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Do you have a picture of the area? Our ‘85 28 looked like this -

At least in that year it doesn’t seem to have the wooden bit you’re talking about. The wooden trim there was just for the back of the jib tracks, not the stanchions. I presume they changed the design at some point.

 

[dfp51]

Nope, ours looks exactly the same. There is a thin strip of wood resting inside a channel directly above the shelf. It is not visible on your photo, but is just past the little hump you can see in your photo. It is outboard of the trim piece and shroud attachment rod (forget what that is called) visible on your photo.

I will grab a pic when I am down at the boat later this week or this weekend

 

[Davidasailor26]

Ah. Unfortunately I never dug around there to see that strip or try to get behind it.

 

[dfp51]

Thanks. Something to puzzle over for the next little bit it seems.

 

[Harlan]

I am quite certain you will find some self tapping screws on the inboard side of the wood trim - at least that's how it is attached on my OD34. Pretty much impossible to see without a mirror.

 

[Sefuller]

I have never seen an O'day with the wood strips you describe, I wonder if it was added by a previous owner? I have removed stanchions from a couple of O'days and some of the nuts are nearly impossible to access going that route. Even if you get them off, getting them back on presents an even greater challenge. There were a couple of places on our last boat where I used a hole saw to drill a 2" diameter hole in the face of the "hump" you described in order to get a wrench on the nuts. I intended to get 2" grommet caps like what you see in a desk top where the cords run through, but we sold the boat before I got them ordered.

 

[dfp51]

@Harlan, you are right. Never would have seen them without the heads up. Thanks!