Wish I had the time and inclination to do a full re-bedding of ALL my deck fittings at once--but who has that much spare time on their hands? Instead I've been doing the triage approach since I got my boat in 2016; engine alternator bracket, bilge pumps, engine panel and trailer plug re-wiring, PSS replacement, a few obvious leaks (deck fill plate, dorade vent, deck organizer, and old teak winch pads). I just started a standing rigging replacement this spring, thinking that was the next responsible "big" project to tackle. And, now, in the middle of summer, I find some failed stanchion base beddings.
It's not rocket science. If you had to pick the leaky hardware, it's not a tough guess.
Good.
Leaking. The stained paper towel I tucked up under the headliner months ago shows a failed seal on at least two bolts.
Sitting fairly far outboard on the boat, the stanchion nuts are between tough-to-reach and nearly-inaccessible. The zippered headliner allowed access to some, but further aft, the headliner zipper doesn't even open because the sidewall cabinetry for the wine rack prevents zipper movement that far aft. Unwilling to solve the mystery of disassembling the wine rack, I attacked the headliner with scissors, wire cutters, a box cutter, and finally a hand torch. Hell the headliner above the wine rack is only visible with your head below the stove anyway. The tool of choice for nut removal here was needle-nosed Vise-grips.
When I over-drilled the bolt holes with a 1/2" bit, I found varying degrees of wetness. Yet after hogging out some additional plywood, most of what I removed was dry. So I drilled some extra holes and planned to simply let the area dry out in the August sun for a week or so.
The rusty-bolt telltale confirmed, I attacked the adjacent stanchions as well. For whatever reason, most of the starboard stanchion bases are in worse shape than the port ones. Maybe the PO kept the boat docked on the starboard side and those got tugged on more that the opposite side. Most of the stanchion areas providing little access from below, and not wanting want to tear into the decking from above, I'm hoping the drill/dry/refill with thickened epoxy approach will be sufficient.
I have some rusty stanchion bolts under the bow pulpit as well, but can't access them due to the anchor locker liner (which, including the drain hose, is apparently a lengthy project in itself). I'm thinking about just drilling some 4" access holes in the liner (to allow access to the stanchion bolts) and then committing to trashing the liner, at a later date, in favor of a wood and fiberglass bulkhead wall, as others have done.
Never a dull moment with a 37 year old boat.
It's not rocket science. If you had to pick the leaky hardware, it's not a tough guess.
Good. Leaking. The stained paper towel I tucked up under the headliner months ago shows a failed seal on at least two bolts.Sitting fairly far outboard on the boat, the stanchion nuts are between tough-to-reach and nearly-inaccessible. The zippered headliner allowed access to some, but further aft, the headliner zipper doesn't even open because the sidewall cabinetry for the wine rack prevents zipper movement that far aft. Unwilling to solve the mystery of disassembling the wine rack, I attacked the headliner with scissors, wire cutters, a box cutter, and finally a hand torch. Hell the headliner above the wine rack is only visible with your head below the stove anyway. The tool of choice for nut removal here was needle-nosed Vise-grips.
When I over-drilled the bolt holes with a 1/2" bit, I found varying degrees of wetness. Yet after hogging out some additional plywood, most of what I removed was dry. So I drilled some extra holes and planned to simply let the area dry out in the August sun for a week or so.
The rusty-bolt telltale confirmed, I attacked the adjacent stanchions as well. For whatever reason, most of the starboard stanchion bases are in worse shape than the port ones. Maybe the PO kept the boat docked on the starboard side and those got tugged on more that the opposite side. Most of the stanchion areas providing little access from below, and not wanting want to tear into the decking from above, I'm hoping the drill/dry/refill with thickened epoxy approach will be sufficient.
I have some rusty stanchion bolts under the bow pulpit as well, but can't access them due to the anchor locker liner (which, including the drain hose, is apparently a lengthy project in itself). I'm thinking about just drilling some 4" access holes in the liner (to allow access to the stanchion bolts) and then committing to trashing the liner, at a later date, in favor of a wood and fiberglass bulkhead wall, as others have done.
Never a dull moment with a 37 year old boat.
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