Repair Sabre Upper Lifeline Termination Ring

[Sabreman]

While putting a line around a piling, I was leaning against the upper lifelines with my knees at the aft end where the lifeline terminate at the stern pulpit. The pulpit has a stainless ring welded to it to which the lifeline turnbuckle is attached. Even though I wasn't leaning that hard, and am not obese, the ring parted and I ended up in the Chesapeake Bay. I consider this to be a blessing in disguise because it could have parted while underway with disasterous results. Since I now suspect ALL the welded fittings on the bow & stern pulpits, I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas for a better solution than simply welding a new (thicker) ring. I've looked at some of the fitting manufacturers and they all seem to rely on some sort of welded fitting. The stern pulpit has a horizontal rail to which the ring is welded; if it were vertical, the answer would be easy. The boat is a 1984 Sabre 38.

[NOLAsailing]

A good weld should not fail under those circumstances. Why do you not want to repair the welds?

Short of lashings, I think I would suggest new pulpits if you think all of the welds are suspect and do not want to attempt a welded repair. I've ordered from a company called Tops In Quality with good results.

[Denr]

Buy a Catalina, they have very robust fittings, sail like **** but you'll remain on board!

[captlar]

Sabreman - Have a local guy spot weld the repair and check others. One bad weld does not mean others are defective. It could also have been cracked previously.
What's the temp of the water in the Bay now :-)

[sailingdog]

LOL.... at least it was you and not anyone else... Welds are often subject to faster corrosion than unwelded areas, due to the changes that occur when the weld is made.

[Sabreman]

Thanks for the replies. I've been leaning toward the weld solution anyway since anything else appears like a jury rig. It's possible that the weld was compromised. The boat is older and who knows what happened before I owned her. Maybe I'll have the port side done "just in case" with a larger diameter ring.

As for Catalina's they're fine boats - my father had three (22, 27, 30) and I worked for 2 dealers a VERY long time ago. I'll stay with Sabre though (2 boats over 20 years).

Thanks!

[Sabreman]

Oh yeah -this happened in the middle of Oct. The water was only chilly. Wouldn't want to fall in now. Happened once in December about 18 years ago...I didn't think that I could be numb from the waist down

[camaraderie]

Sabreman...for our lifeline attachment to the pulpit there is a rounded off trianguar piece of stainless welded to the pulpit which has a hole drilled in it for attachment to the lifeline fittings. The base of the triangle provides a nice long welding surface for a secure weld. This seems to me to be a lot more secure than the tiny surface area provided by the half circle attachments like we had on previous boats. If you're having it re-done on both sides you may want to consier this alternative.

[Sabreman]

Great refinement! Even though the tube is 1", I could get a nice triangle with a 1" base welded in lieu of the ring. If the triangle stock was hefty, the lifeline cable would part before the attachment! (but that's another issue).

Thanks for the idea...what these forums are all about. depending on how it turns out, I may extend the idea to the bow pulpit and replace the welded triangular bail. Thanks again

[jones2r]

Be sure the welder knows that he is working with stainless. In a boat yard it should be a given, but .... Also, he should be using a TIG machine.