stanchions for Express 37 (or other Santa Cruz ULDBs)?

[Alex W]

I have one bent stanchion.

The Express 37 uses a Santa Cruz/Olson style stanchion that fits into a deep pocket fiberglassed into the hull and deck. The stanchions on my boat look like they were probably made by Vetus (the tapered tubing and top looks very similar to their stanchions), but the longest Vetus at 750mm (29.5") is too short.

I found the right ones in Ti from Allied Titanium, but they won't match the existing ones and are about twice the price of stainless.

Garhauer will do custom lengths and a pretty close match (the top is a bit different), but I wondered about other potential sources to see if there is an exact match available.

 

[casc27]

Svendsen's Metal Works might be able to help. They used to have images on their website but no more. I would guess they still make the tapered versions so it could be worth a call.

http://www.svendsens.com/metal-works

 

[alifish]

Those guys are wizards, bought some replacement stanchions for my deck mounted J/29 rigs

 

[El Borracho]

The Garhauer stanchions are nice enough but have two issues when used in the Santa Cruz pocket application. Ask me how I know. The lower lifeline uses a rivet-like ferrule that will leak a tiny bit of water to the inside of the tube. It will eventually emerge as rusty water either at the base or at the ferrule wreaking havoc with the yachtie look. I think the original equipment tubes have a closed bottom end that additional helps.

I have not found an appropriate supplier. Svendsen's might be the best try.

A good welder might be able to seal up the ferrule and bottom of a Garhauer part...

I tried to "fix" the problem by squirting rattle-can foam inside (yes, out of desperation) but that didn't help any.

Related question: What is the proper way to install them? 5200? Nothing?

 

[casc27]

Proper way to install? Nothing. The pocket will fill with water, it just will. And if you put 5200 (why do people like that stuff?) in there you may never get that stanchion out again. As for sealing the bottom, might work, but with good quality ss I've had no more rust issues. (Had them with the cheap ass stanchions that came with the boat.)

 

[Alex W]

Thanks, I emailed Svensens.

My existing ones do have solid bottoms. I would never bond them into the boat with 5200. The lifelines hold the stanchions in place once the lifeline gates are closed. I guess you could try a small ring of butyl around them to keep the water out, but I think it is going to get in there anyway.

alex

 

[Alex W]

Svensens made the originals and has the replacements for a pretty good price. A couple of them are heading my way on Monday. Thanks casc27.

 

[Later]

Alex,

Glad to hear you had success with Svensens. A couple of years ago I needed new stanchions for my Olson 911s. Buzz Ballinger told me that Olson obtained their stanchions from Railmakers in Costa Mesa (949)642-6506. They were able to supply new ones for me. I thought that maybe Express used them also.

 

[Pazzo]

I'm glad I found this thread. I have recently bought an E37 and some of the stanchions are loose and there is certainly water in the holes where they sit. Sounds like that is perfectly normal and I shouldn't worry about water seeping into the core?

 

[Rain Man]

Just to confirm- the rust issues go away with better quality stainless? We are about to completely redo our SC 27 stanchions as the rust problem is out of control.

 

[Raz'r]

Just to confirm- the rust issues go away with better quality stainless? We are about to completely redo our SC 27 stanchions as the rust problem is out of control.

If there is water in the pockets, stainless will corrode. It needs oxygen to create the oxide that keeps corrosion at bay. There are several ways around it. Sealants, weep holes, a Fiberglass stub that the sticks up and the new stanchion slides down and over. You just have to pick your poison.

 

[B dock]

Slide an o ring on before insertion, then push the o ring down to seal the opening. works pretty well. A light bead of silicon can also do the trick in keeping most of the water out.

 

[Zonker]

It sounds like you're describing a cock ring but go on...

 

[El Borracho]

Just to confirm- the rust issues go away with better quality stainless?

Doubt it. Trapped moisture in an anerobic pocket with abrading movement probably makes the chromium protective layer impossible. Old topsides paint or gelcoat exacerbates the problem, too.

I did the stubs epoxied into the hull (SC50). Seems ideal. I have seen stanchions that were pushed into pockets filled with sealant until it spurts out. The sealant eventually fails. Plus, removal of a bent stanchion or failed sealant will be hateful to impossible.

Stanchions with welded bottoms and lower wire eyelets area big help.

In theory the pockets do not leak into the core......

 

[Rain Man]

I like the stubs idea but wonder how they hold up to a 200 pounder slamming into the lifelines. Got any pictures of the stubs? We were planning to abandon the pockets and use stainless flanges that bolt through the deck. Also capable of being ripped out of the deck, I suppose.

 

[sierrawhiskeygolf]

The Olson 30 stanchions are the same or similar to an SC27. We eliminated the pockets on ours and made some bases which are through bolted. The deck is well reinforced inside as well. Holes on sides of hull are potted and top holes are solid glass. Very sturdy. The pockets cause problems in our climate where we get freezing temps. It was lots of work getting the angles of the plates just right but worth it. We felt fastening only on the top could be an issue, especially since the O30 is so lightly built (SC27 very similar construction I think) and the toe rail gets in the way of making a large landing area for the base plate.

 

[El Borracho]

I like the stubs idea but wonder how they hold up to a 200 pounder slamming into the lifelines. Got any pictures of the stubs? We were planning to abandon the pockets and use stainless flanges that bolt through the deck. Also capable of being ripped out of the deck, I suppose.

The stubs will not break before the stanchion bends just above them. Solid GRP rod. I suspect that the tabbing inside would fail first, too (see pic just above ^^). What I don’t know is what would happen in a serious collision. Probably hull damage, but that is likely anyway. Advantage to a bolted base in that case as the stanchion makes a poor lever arm.

 

[sierrawhiskeygolf]

Ya I'd agree with the above - there's a tradeoff between making the stanchion structure nice and stiff so things aren't moving around too much, especially if you have people hiking, but you need some kind of 'fuse' in the structure. The O30 and the SC27 are lightly built and also old (don't know the Express 37). You WILL damage the hull from impact if the stanchion structure is too stiff. Easier to replace a damaged stanchion.

 

[Rain Man]

The Olson 30 stanchions are the same or similar to an SC27. We eliminated the pockets on ours and made some bases which are through bolted. The deck is well reinforced inside as well. Holes on sides of hull are potted and top holes are solid glass. Very sturdy. The pockets cause problems in our climate where we get freezing temps. It was lots of work getting the angles of the plates just right but worth it. We felt fastening only on the top could be an issue, especially since the O30 is so lightly built (SC27 very similar construction I think) and the toe rail gets in the way of making a large landing area for the base plate.

Nice work! To do this we would have to remove the toe rail where the stanchion bases go - not enough room outboard of the toe rail. Food for thought though.

 

[Kenny Dumas]

Maybe melt some paraffin wax, fill tube part way and jam the stantion in? Stop rattle, no water to rust. Remove with some heat or just pull hard enough to make the wax slip?