[RobGallagher]

I will be installing backing plates to all my deck hardware including lifeline stanchions on my ''72 C&C 30.

Is 5/16 aluminum ok to make backing plates?

Is it ok to install the backing plates without rebedding if I don''t remove the hardware?

A couple of the life line stanchions will have to be rebedded because they are loose, but the rest of the hardware is solid.

If I need to rebed, what products and methods are best?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

 

[VIEXILE]

I pull all my deck hardware every three years or so, including stanchions, and rebed it with Boatlife caulk. Doing this prevents (generally) water intrusion into the deck and leaks below. Using vicegrips, particularly if working alone, clamp the little grabbers belowdecks on the nut of the bolt you''re removing. Undo. You''ll hear it drop when you''re done. Repeat. Clean all surfaces well with acetone. Scrape away all the old caulking. Put Boatlife caulk on the, say, stanchion base and the deck where the stanchion will sit. You''re making a watertight rubber gasket. Dab a little caulk in each bolt hole and on the threads of the bolt and under the bolt head. Put the bolts back in the stanchion base through the deck. Put some caulk on the backing plate (helps fill voids and misshapen areas of overhead deck). Fit everything together and reattach the nuts. Bring up to pressure, but don''t fully tighten the bolts yet. Let the caulk set up for a day or so, then tighten down. Cut away excess (abovedecks anyway) with a razor blade and clean up with acetone. Sounds involved, but my son and I have leisurely done a 35'' boat on the dock in a day or so. Trick is having help down below. KW

 

[VIEXILE]

Oh yeah. 5/16 Aluminum is o.k. for a few years, but contact with SS will cause corrosion over time. The idea is simply to keep the bolt head from pulling through the deck.

 

[Denr]

Simply due to dissimilar metal corrosion, I would use stainless. Although the stanchion base and backing plate are not touching one another, they are galvanically connected via the SS screws. As a long lasting alternative to Boat-Life (which I think it sucks.....shrinkage, discoloration, hardens prematurely-may be a good thing depending on what you''re refering to) you may want to consider the use of butyl rubber. All of the stanchions were bedded in butyl at the factory on my boat in 1986 and they don''t leak to this day! The butyl will remain pliable for years. That’s my story and I''m sticking to it!

 

[RobGallagher]

Someone on the C&C email string suggested installing "toerail stanchions" and filling in the old holes in the deck. Does anyone have any knowledge of these. Internet searches have not turned up anything yet.

Thanks again,

Rob Gallgher
C&C 30 "Trysail"
Pawcatuck CT

 

[TSOJOURNER]

I have been looking at 35 and 37ft C&C''s from the mid 80''s. These boats have an alloy (aluminum?) toe-rail to which the stanchions are bolted and then through-bolted to the deck/hull joint. I am not familiar with the earlier vintage C&C''s so can''t advise if this type of stanchion is available for your boat.
Jonathan

 

[TSOJOURNER]

I agree with VIEXILE on all but one point.

I would prefer to use 3M''s 101 a polysulfide bedding adhesive. Its an excellent sealer, and it has a long life span. It will require reading the directions...as with all sealants and adhesives.

I too would either use stainless for backing or a non-metallic substance, instead of aluminum.

 

[RobGallagher]

Thanks for all the good advice!!

One more question on backing plates...
Since I have been talked out of aluminum, I am considering using wood backing plates with big stainless washers. I like the price
Any Ideas??

Thanks again