stanchion leak with stainless steel blocks

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kellbell
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2020 9:01 pm

stanchion leak with stainless steel blocks

Post by kellbell » Mon Apr 27, 2020 9:04 pm

are the stanchion blocks stainless and aluminum interchangeable - I have stainless they have leak issues- can I use the aluminum

Jeff Tirey
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2017 3:30 pm

Re: stanchion leak with stainless steel blocks

Post by Jeff Tirey » Tue Sep 22, 2020 12:21 pm

If the stanchion bases are leaking, I suggest first checking the sealant beneath the stanchion base. This is not necessarily an easy job though.

I needed to re-bed a stanchion base where water was leaking in through the two bolts fastening the base to the deck. This required removing interior finish work to first see the underside of the deck surface. Then one person was required to remove the washer and nut on the bolt from below the deck, while a second person was holding the bolt from spinning at the top side of the deck. So this is a 2 person job. Reaching the underside of the deck to remove or put back in place the washers and nuts is awkward to say the least.

The stanchion bolts on my 2002 Bavaria 40 do not have a backing plate of any kind beneath the deck. I will be changing that next spring during my commissioning chores for all the stanchion bases. This does mean I'll be tearing apart most of the interior to reach the nuts and washers, and devising a method to hold the backing plate in place while placing each bolt, washer and nut, without dropping any of them.

If you change the material of the stanchion bases or blocks from stainless steel to aluminum, assuming that the stanchion itself is stainless steel, you need to separate the two materials to avoid galvanic action which causes corrosion. My boat has aluminum stanchion bases and stainless steel stanchions, with a plastic ferrule that separates the two materials where the stanchion slides down into the base.

Hope this helps you.

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