Bent stanchion

[Beckytek]

I had a run-in with a pump-out dock this week, (it came out of nowhere)! After pumping the holding tank the wind was putting me onto the dock. I did the Pascal move of turning the bow into the dock, then backing off. It worked well except something caught one of my stanchions and bent it slightly. Has anyone replaced one before. It looks just like a 7/8" stainless tube with a base plate on the bottom and a "T" on top. It does have a hole for the lifeline to go through though. I didn't see any at the Sam's site. If anybody has changed one I'd appreciate hearing how it's done. Ron

 

[yachtsmanbill]

I had to replace 3 of mine. Are the bases still o.k.? It is just 7/8 SS tube that you will need to cut to length. Mine have a cable eye that slides over the tube, but yours must have a 9/32 hole drilled through for the 1/4 cable. No biggie. Bump it with a counter sink to de-burr it. If you dont the cable jacket will head south and if the cable isnt SS it will rust on you. You will have to remove the turn buckle at either end to feed it through. Dont feel bad of you need to cut it off and the take the cable to WM to swage a new keeper on the end. Maybe someone nearby has a hand swage. It looks like a bolt cutter with special dies / crimps for cable ends. Rag Baggers use them a lot for rigging jobs. It would beat taking 30 feet of cable and 10 stanchions to the store... ws

 

[yachtsmanbill]

I had to replace 3 of mine. Are the bases still o.k.? It is just 7/8 SS tube that you will need to cut to length. Mine have a cable eye that slides over the tube, but yours must have a 9/32 hole drilled through for the 1/4 cable. No biggie. Bump it with a counter sink to de-burr it. If you dont the cable jacket will head south and if the cable isnt SS it will rust on you. You will have to remove the turn buckle at either end to feed it through. Dont feel bad of you need to cut it off and the take the cable to WM to swage a new keeper on the end. Maybe someone nearby has a hand swage. It looks like a bolt cutter with special dies / crimps for cable ends. Rag Baggers use them a lot for rigging jobs. It would beat taking 30 feet of cable and 10 stanchions to the store... ws

 

[Beckytek]

Thanks Bill, sounds pretty easy. My base is fine. The lifelines are looking a little rusty and I was thinking of changing them soon anyway. I was wondering about the tube being flared into the base to keep it from coming out. It looks like it just sits in there. Ron

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Actually, the base is drilled and tapped with about 4-6 set screws so that you can line up ALL the tubes perfectly! I would say that its omni-directionally aligned (?) When you are ready, have someone "sight" down the length-- a quarter turn on a screw can change the alignment 1/4 - 1/2 inch and make it look like an amateur did it. Check it from the ground too.
Its tuff being a virgo... ws