Stanchions Revisited

[Nereussailor]

I started a thread a few years back (4 to be exact) about repairing my stanchions. When I purchased my boat, the stanchions were in pretty rough shape. The boat had some damage from hurricane Fran ( I think) and the stanchions were never fixed or replaced. I removed them from the boat which wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. My biggest problem was the corrosion between the aluminum caps and the stainless tubes, but I made it through that and got them all drilled out and removed. They were pretty much falling apart and needed to be replaced. Now on to the fun part. I either want to straighten them, or replace the tubes, but both are looking like a pretty big chunk of change. To straighten 4 stanchions would be $170 to replace the tubes would be $340 so I set out on a new mission. I found a set of used stanchions that are straight, and was going to try to get someone to weld a short tube to the base. I figure that if I cut off the old tubes and grind the bases down, it can't cost all that much to have someone cut the short tubes and have them welded. I've drawn a rough picture of what I'm looking for and attached it. I'm thinking that the short tube that I need welded to the base would only have to be 2.5" long. Am I way off base here, or will this work? My thought is that If they ever get bent again, it will be as simple as removing the tube and replacing it instead of having to replace the whole thing.

 

[jimg]

I did not read your original post, so excuse me if this has been said before, but why go to all this expense and trouble when you can buy new parts cheaper (and much better). Garhauer has new SS tubes for $30. They have the complete stanchions with bases also, equally reasonably priced. There are other sources as well, such Catalina Direct. Buying new would be easier and a whole lot better.

 

[Nereussailor]

The only place I found a base that are the same as the ones on my boat is Tops in Quality and they wan't around $120 each for one complete new stanchion. The older H30's have a funky base that isn't like most. If you open the PDF file that I attached you will see what the base looks like. They're not a basic flat base and moving the stanchions inside of the toerail to accomodate the flat bases would be a real PIA not to mention the loss of deck space which is already limited. I picked up the tubes from ebay for $75 for 8 of them so I'm not real worried about the tubes. What I want to do is make it so that I can easily replace them if they ever get bent again. Right now, I'm having a hard time finding a 316 stainless tube that I can slide a 1" OD tube into and have it fit snug. I've found one that's 1.01"ID but I'm not sure if that will be too snug. The next size up is 1.12"ID. Both of them are 304 stainless.

 

[Fred Villiard]

Try McMaster

 

[Nereussailor]

Been there, the size I'm looking for only comes in 304 stainless. Everyone has 304 stainless. I can buy that locally and save shipping costs. The way it's looking, I might have to go with the 304. I have a ladder mount that a friend made for me out of 304 and it always has splotches that look like rust forming. It's a constant battle polishing them.

 

[Dalliance]

Call Garhuarer. If they don't have something that matches, they can probably do custom base plates for you if you send them one of your old stanchions to use as a template. They are a very accommodating company and reasonable in their pricing.

 

[rardiH36]

Nereussailor:

Take a look at this link:

http://www.downwindmarine.com/Marine-Depot-Rail-Connectors-Stainless-Steel-p-90891574.html

Looks like you could cut each one in half and then weld onto the stanchions bases. So one fitting works for two!

Or >>>>,
I expect you have touched base with Rigrite, but if not, here is a link to rigrite's page that has what I think are the bases which fit our ~1980's Cherubini Hunters. Seems that you need to call Rigrite for pricing. The picture of the fitting and the part number id is near the bottom of the page.

http://www.rigrite.com/Hardware/Stanchions_&_Bases/Stanchion_Bases_SS.html

Perhaps the used stanchions that you discovered will fit into these bases, thus negating the need to have someone cut and weld your old bases?

The original stanchions on my 1980 Cherubini Hunter have remained straight. I would think that an event that would bend more than one or two at a time would be a rare occurrence. So perhaps another way would be for you to first check with a good SS welder about the work. Then with a cut-off tool carefully separate your existing stanchion tubes from the base, also the bent support rod. Then weld on the new ones? And not worry that these stanchions might get bent someday.

 

[Nereussailor]

Thanks rardi, I never thought of rig-rite. I sent in a quote form. I've bought a couple of things from them. They're not cheap, but their quality is excellent.
It seems like it would take a lot to bend them. I know I shouldn't worry about them bending again, but we live in Florida and hurricanes do happen here.

 

[Joe]

To repeat Dalliance's comment.... Call Garhauer.... they are very easy to work with, as others here will attest. They will custom make any type, shape or style of bracket for all their mounted products.

 

[Joe Blizzard]

the size I'm looking for only comes in 304 stainless

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?sortby=id&step=2&id=20&showunits=inches
http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?sortby=id&step=2&id=902&showunits=inches

 

[Nereussailor]

rardi, I sent a quote form to rig-rite. They sent it back with a quote of $99 for each base.
Dalliance and Joe, I dealt with Garhauer when I purchased my main sheet traveler.They do have great products. They're my next call

 

[woodster]

have you thought about going over to Clearwater to dons salvage and see if you can find some to replace yours with ...you may not find the exact kind but you may find enough to replace all of them ...he has tonnes of that kind of stuf...

regards

woody

 

[Joe]

It just dawned on me that Minney's Yacht Surplus in Costa Mesa, Ca has a ton of surplus stanchions.... upstairs there's a back room full of them.... may be a long shot, but you might call to see what base configurations they have in stock.

 

[NYSail]

Garhauer is great stuff. I replaced all my stanchion and could not be happier with the price and quality. $30 for base and $30 for tube. A deal!!

 

[Nereussailor]

After getting ridiculus quotes for my stanchion bases, I decided to do some fab work myself and have someone weld them. Even Garhauer's prices were higher than I wanted to pay. Rig-rite was the highest at $99 each. I set out to find some 316 stainless tubing slightly bigger than the stanchion tube. I found some at a local boat shop in Ft. Pierce, FL just down the road. $10 for 2 ft. I cut off my old stanchion tubes and the support loops at the bases. Then I cut 2.5" pieces of the new tubing and cleaned up the ends. I took the support loops off of the old tubes and cleaned them up also. I found a guy that welds stainless, and had him weld everything back together. In the mean time, I had picked up a set of 8 stanchion tubes on ebay for for $75 shipped. They were pretty straight, but someone had straightened them using heat, and they were slightly blued. Removing the blue from the area where they were heated was easier than I thought. I took some 250 grit sand paper and sanded the area, then I moved to 400 grit wet paper. From there I went to 000 steel wool. to polish them back to their original finish. I cleaned up the bases, and polished them up the best I could. The welds aren't pretty, but they have good penetration. The reason for going this route was that if the stanchions ever get bent again, all I have to do is pull out the old one and put in a new one. Sorry the pic isn't better, but my camera on my phone sucks.

 

[DougM]

I found a website called marinepartdepot.com that sells stanchion bases, and other stainless hardware. Prices are low but I have never purchased anything from them. I have absolutely no idea whether the quality is good nor do I know what grade of stainless steel the parts parts are made from.

 

[gettinthere]

I have bought a lot from marinepartdepot over the years.
Always checked with a magnet and found zero pull so I'm confident in saying it is 316 as they claim.
Prices are excellent. Get on their mailing list and you'll get coupon codes for 10 to 15% off. And always free shipping. I'm a happy customer.

 

[Nereussailor]

I've bought some parts from Marine Parts Depot and found their products to be of good quality. Thanks everyone for all of the suggestions but what no one here seems to understand here is that the stanchion bases for the 79-83 H30 are not flat like all of the stanchion bases that are listed on everybody's websites. Because of the shape of the bases and the way they go up the toe rails, I couldn't use a flat base without modification to the deck or toe rail. With the side decks being as narrow as they are, I didn't want to move the stanchions inward and loose deck space. Plus any modification to the deck would change the drainage of the water that flows off of the side decks.