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Rebedding Lifeline Stanchions

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Rich G
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226 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/22/2010 : 11:20:23

Yesterday, I removed the stanchions to rebed them. To my surprise, rather than being bedded with caulk, they seemed to have a rubber pad underneath them. The core seems to be perfectly in tact, so I am not going to over drill the bolt holes and fill with epoxy.

Is 3m 4200 a good sealant to use?

Should I peel off the rubber bedding material off of the deck? Can I get replacement pads anywhere? Catalina Direct seems to know nothing about them.

Rich

Cerberus
Hull #4695
1984 SR/FK No Pop-Top

Edited by - Rich G on 03/22/2010 11:20:50

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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4382 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2010 : 12:20:50

Rich,

What's your model and year?

Sounds like some ARPO (anal-rententive previous owner) installed the rubber pads.

I have always used Life-Caulk. They recommend tightening the screws about 75% - let the caulk cure for about a week (the curing lets the caulk form its own gasket) then tighten the rest of the way.

Good luck!

Edited by - on

JohnP
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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2010 : 12:57:09

3M 4200 is good for this job, because it is soft enough that you can remove it at any time years later if needed.

On the other hand, 3M 5200 is permanent, and I used it to caulk the seal between the glass and the rubber at the edge of my car sunroof, permanently. It becomes a really hard rubber-like polymer.

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mlg3733
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Response Posted - 03/22/2010 : 13:41:47

Is it a rubber pad or is it caulk? Properly bedded with a removable caulk, as in 3M 4200 it will look as if it is a gasket. If so; clean and remove all caulk and reseal with 4200, some people suggest not tightening the nuts all the way until the caulk has cured, then tightening and cutting the excess with a razor blade, while others say it does not matter so much. I did tighten mine all the way, the seal seems to hold up quite well.

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JohnP
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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2010 : 13:57:17

Rich,

By the way, do you have 2 dogs that go sailing with you on your boat called Cerberus?

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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3758 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2010 : 14:08:20

All urethanes are adhesives. Polysulfide is the bedding compound of choice for nearly all marine applications. The week long cure is an inconvenience that is overshadowed by its many benefits.

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Dave Bristle
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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2010 : 14:46:03

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave5041
 All urethanes are adhesives. Polysulfide is the bedding compound of choice for nearly all marine applications. The week long cure is an inconvenience that is overshadowed by its many benefits.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Second all of that. 3-M 4200 is a slighly less agressive (than 5200) polyurethane adhesive. Polyether (3-M 4000) or polysulfide (3-M 101 or Life Caulk--my long-time favorite) are preferred. It is these types that make removing and rebedding easy on you and on the boat, and that seem like rubber gaskets when it's time to remove them. But they seal much better than rubber.

Another tip: After the week-long cure as described above, tighten by turning the nuts down below while keeping the heads above from turning. This ensures that the seal against the bolt threads is not compromised.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 03/22/2010 14:50:14

Voyager
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5371 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2010 : 15:20:59

I've started the process of rebedding the chainplates and stanchions.
I did the rear lower shroud chainplates yesterday and used polysulfide to rebed them.
Wednesday, I plan on doing the forward chainplates.
Friday the upper shroud chainplates will be redone.

I think the latter is where I'm getting a substantial rain leak, and I hope there's not too much core rot in this area. I used the "tapping the deck with the screwdriver handle" technique, but I could not tell whether there was any softening there by sound alone. If there is any rot, I will use the bent nail approach to clean it out, and fill it with epoxy, then redrill it out. Don Casey outlines this in his books.

Once I'm done with the chainplates, then I will turn my attention to the stanchions. Stanchions #3 (near the Catalina 25 decal) on both starboard and port sides take a beating, because people always seem to grab these to hold on, pull the boat or yank the crap out of these. Stanchions #2 get their fair share of abuse from "well intentioned dock hands" who grab the stanchion while I'm landing on the dock.

Stanchion #1 is rarely touched, and on Passage, these are the firmest ones.

Here again, I will remove the soft core, epoxy it in, then rebed the stanchions using polysulfide. If I can prep all four stanchions at once, then I can put them back the next day, then wait till the following week to snug them up. They should be ready by then.

I don't believe that the leaks are caused by my windows/portlights, because I have a sunbrella boom-tent draped over the cabin-top generally, and it covers both windows. The port holes don't leak, they seem fine. In spite of the boom tent, my port and starboard cabin light fixtures generally fill with water after a good rain. So my thinking is the stanchions or the upper shroud chainplates are responsible.

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2010 : 21:32:58

A suggestion for the uppers chainplate: remove the chainplate and address any core issues if present, then grind the the outer skin opening slightly larger than the inner and grind out a little core. After sealing the core with liquid epoxy, fill the space where core was removed with epoxy putty so it presents a smooth surface that tapers inward on all 4 sides. Leave a rounded lip of polysufide above deck level and support the cover plates so 1/16 - 1/8" of polysulfide fills the gap. After curing, tightening the cover plates will compress the polysulfide into the wedge. Its not as complex as it sounds and a Dremel does it all. You'll never worry about a chainplate leak again. Also, tape around the chainplates in the cabin before the polysufide is squirted in. It is pretty runny for a few days. Don't ask for names or details.

Sealing the inside with modeling clay is even easier, but it took me a while to learn that trick.

Edited by - Dave5041 on 03/22/2010 21:35:41

Voyager
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5371 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2010 : 19:11:30

I think I get it, but a drawing or photo would be helpful

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