[C38] Stanchions

Anders Finn anders at finn.ws
Tue Feb 1 02:05:21 EST 2011


Steve,

If you go to the website, and click the image (not obvious I know) 
you'll get a brochure. It says 6063-T5, my dad's abbreviating where he 
should not be when talking about shear strength rather than tensile 
strength.

Spec for 6063-T5 is:
Al: 97.5% (max)
Cr: 0.1% (max)
Cu: 0.1% (max)
Fe: 0.35% (max)
Mg: 0.45-0.9%
Mn: 0.1% (max)
Si: 0.2-0.6%
Ti: 0.1% (max)
Zn: 0.1% (max)
other: 0.05% (max each)
other: 0.15% (max total)

Anders

On 01/31/2011 10:28 PM, S Orton wrote:
> Did the tech at Taco Marine tell you what material the rail extrusion 
> is?  I always assumed it was a 6000 series which is not a very strong, 
> but is weldable, free machining and has good corrosion resistance.  
> 6061 can have up to .7 % of iron in its alloy.  I've been retired from 
> the aircraft design for 13 years and to me T5/T6 is not a material, 
> but a temper (strength) condition of the material.  Please re-educate 
> an ole dog.
> Cheers, Steve O
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:17:44 -0500
> From: charles at finn.ws
> To: listserve at catalina38.org
> Subject: Re: [C38] Stanchions
>
> T5 is a lower cost material than T6.  Not as hard or strong, but still 
> some of the strongest aluminum made.  It is a bit more ductile.
> So, is it strong enough to support those torsional forces?
> Inquiring minds want to know!
>
> And Thanks!
> Chuck Finn
> Mighty Quinn #114
> Great Lakes
>
> On 1/31/2011 8:15 PM, Anders Finn wrote:
>
>     Ask and you shall recieve
>
>     http://tacomarine.com/item--1-9-16-x-1-1-2-Aluminum-Sailboat-Toe-Rail--A62-0009.html
>
>     According to the tech's at Taco Marine, this is our toe rail spec.
>
>     Anders
>
>     On 01/30/2011 12:56 AM, Steve Smolinske wrote:
>
>         I have worm holes on the aft section of the stbd rail far away
>         from the gates.  Good luck fishing that line I did that once
>         took me most of a morning
>
>         Steve Smolinske
>
>         Sent from my iPhone
>
>         On Jan 29, 2011, at 7:55 PM, "Patrick Harpole"
>         <1derful at comcast.net <mailto:1derful at comcast.net>> wrote:
>
>             *Speaking of stanchions and "worm holes" I got the
>             pleasure of worming a wire through pulpit (aka stanchion)
>             because the bow navigation light wiring failed.*
>
>                 ----- Original Message -----
>                 *From:* Max Soto <mailto:maxsoto at gmail.com>
>                 *To:* Catalina 38 Listserve
>                 <mailto:listserve at catalina38.org>
>                 *Sent:* Saturday, January 29, 2011 5:31 PM
>                 *Subject:* Re: [C38] Stanchions
>
>                 The weirdest thing is that the worm holes on the rails
>                 are not located  near a single fastener. Thy are
>                 located on the sides of the rails... Most of them on a
>                 single side.....
>                 Max
>
>                 Sent from my iPod
>
>                 On Jan 29, 2011, at 6:09 PM, S Orton
>                 <ssorton at hotmail.com <mailto:ssorton at hotmail.com>> wrote:
>
>                     I should of continued with the "worm hole"
>                     discussion, adding I don't consider it a
>                     structural problem unless a hole develops
>                     at several adjacent fasteners thereby destroying
>                     the clamping force between the hull and deck.  If
>                     it is a hole here and there, fill it with 5200 and
>                     forget it.
>                     Cheers, Steve O
>
>                     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                     Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:26:43 -0500
>                     From: steve.ribble at gmail.com
>                     <mailto:steve.ribble at gmail.com>
>                     To: listserve at catalina38.org
>                     <mailto:listserve at catalina38.org>
>                     Subject: Re: [C38] Stanchions
>
>                     Don't know who made the toerail, but the same
>                     cross section is used by several different boat
>                     builders of the era so it must be an established
>                     extruder...I had the same thing on a 1980 Mirage.
>
>                     On Sat, Jan 29, 2011 at 1:11 PM, Chuck Finn
>                     <charles at finn.ws <mailto:charles at finn.ws>> wrote:
>
>                         Steve,
>                         I called Garhauer yesterday about stanchions
>                         and the toerail.  Mike told me they never made
>                         the toerail as that is not something they are
>                         set up for.  He was interested in my idea of a
>                         toerail stanchion, but would make no comment
>                         until he had seen what our toerail looks
>                         like.  He offered to work with me on this
>                         after I got him some specs/pictures of our
>                         rail.  Does anyone have a cross-sectional view
>                         and/or measurements?
>
>                         If I were to guess, I would say our toerails
>                         were made of T6 aluminum as it extrudes and
>                         anodizes well and is one of the hardest and
>                         strongest types.  I have cut this stuff on a
>                         lathe and it does not remotely behave like
>                         ordinary aluminum!  You need ear protection.  
>                         I agree with Steve O. that low bidder could be
>                         our problem here, which of course would vary
>                         by batches and years.  All aluminum I am aware
>                         of can contain some small levels of iron, but
>                         I recall Grumman successfully figured out how
>                         to reduce this back when they were the
>                         aircraft frame folks.  By the way, don't try
>                         to weld on this stuff as it requires TIG and a
>                         lot of practice!  One more thing, aluminum can
>                         corrode when exposed.  The neat thing about
>                         this stuff is it almost immediately begins to
>                         form an impermeable skin as part of the
>                         corrosion process that essentially stops
>                         further corrosion and it is able to do this
>                         across a wide PH range.  Now you know pretty
>                         much all I know about this stuff!
>
>                         Regards,
>
>                         Chuck Finn
>                         Mighty Quinn #114
>                         Great Lakes
>
>                         On 1/29/2011 12:19 PM, S Orton wrote:
>
>                             Phil,  I don't think a backing plate is
>                             worth the effort- the underside
>                             clearance/access is very tough.  Use
>                             oversize washers if possible.  If the
>                             holes are rotted out, fill with epoxie and
>                             redrill.  My toe rail also has worm holes,
>                             near the gates.  I assumed the reason was
>                             low bidder on the extrusions with much
>                             more impurities included.  The aircraft
>                             specs would preclude what we a seeing. 
>                             Has anybody contacted Garhauer about this
>                             problem?  I can understand corrosion at
>                             the SS fasteners, but these worm holes
>                             appear unrelated.
>                             Cheers, Steve O
>
>                             ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                             Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011 10:09:44 -0500
>                             From: steve.ribble at gmail.com
>                             <mailto:steve.ribble at gmail.com>
>                             To: listserve at catalina38.org
>                             <mailto:listserve at catalina38.org>
>                             Subject: Re: [C38] Stanchions
>
>                             Great thought about the backing plate,
>                             Phil.  I've always considered stanchions
>                             and lifelines to be expendable in the
>                             event of emergencies...that they were
>                             basically to break your fall, not
>                             necessarily there to support the weight of
>                             the world.  That said, obviously I/we
>                             don't want to replace these things every
>                             month or two so they need to be stout
>                             enough.  It seems like one of the first
>                             things to go, when looking at the entire
>                             stanchion "system" is the through-bolt
>                             hole (as Phil indicated) and that a
>                             backing plate would disperse the
>                             loads/forces among the 4 bolts/holes
>                             rather than the two that experience
>                             expansion when torque is applied the the
>                             stanchion. Long story short, assuming
>                             we're all not going to run out and replace
>                             our stanchions for another design, that
>                             Garhauer already has the the backing plate
>                             (the base prior to welding to the
>                             stanchion tube) so it should be an easy
>                             and relatively inexpensive process to
>                             upgrade the holding power of our existing
>                             equipment.
>
>                             On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 8:07 PM, Phil Gay
>                             <eyriepg at comcast.net
>                             <mailto:eyriepg at comcast.net>> wrote:
>
>                                 I thought I would explain what I think
>                                 I know about metals from my aircraft
>                                 engineering background.  I agree that
>                                 the toe rail on our C38s is an
>                                 aluminum alloy.  Pure aluminum does
>                                 create its own oxide coating which
>                                 retards corrosion.  But, when it is
>                                 alloyed to increase its hardness and
>                                 strength, it loses the ability to
>                                 protect itself unless it has a pure
>                                 aluminum cladding on the surface. 
>                                 Typically these alloys have an anodic
>                                 coating (the dark surface on our toe
>                                 rails) or a chemical conversion
>                                 coating which created this protective
>                                 oxide on the exterior surface.
>
>                                 Near the bow of my C38 the toe rail
>                                 has started to pit.  I don’t think it
>                                 has progressed much lately with all
>                                 the rain water that we get here in the
>                                 NW.  I doubt that it has weakened the
>                                 extrusion much at all.  I agree with
>                                 the statements about the loads on the
>                                 stanchions.  Later model Catalinas
>                                 have the stanchions that fit into
>                                 sockets molded into the toe rail as
>                                 well as being bolted through base
>                                 plates to the deck.  BTW I am pretty
>                                 sure that the deck area where the toe
>                                 rails are attached on our C38s is
>                                 solid un-cored fiberglass.  A lot of
>                                 the looseness of the bases is caused
>                                 by the rocking of the bolts, and
>                                 subsequent elongation of the holes,
>                                 because they don’t have backing plates
>                                 to hold them vertical.  I think that
>                                 there are ways to securely attach our
>                                 stanchions to the toe rail if they are
>                                 also bolted inboard to the deck.  I
>                                 have also thought about having the
>                                 existing stanchions modified so that
>                                 they angle outboard to allow more room
>                                 to pass around the shrouds.
>
>                                 Phil Gay
>                                 C38 049 Que Linda
>                                 Everett WA
>
>
>                                 *From:*listserve-bounces at catalina38.org <mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org>
>                                 [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
>                                 <mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org>]
>                                 *On Behalf Of *Anders Finn
>                                 *Sent:* Friday, January 28, 2011 4:25 PM
>
>                                 *To:* listserve at catalina38.org
>                                 <mailto:listserve at catalina38.org>
>                                 *Subject:* Re: [C38] Stanchions
>
>
>
>                                 Really? I thought that toe rail was
>                                 aluminum. Should be pretty resistant
>                                 to salt corrosion. I think what my old
>                                 man is trying to say is that the toe
>                                 rail is at least as strong, if not
>                                 stronger than the plywood under the
>                                 deck to which the stanchions are
>                                 currently screwed into. It would be
>                                 interesting to know the dimensions of
>                                 the toe rail if anyone has them (I
>                                 think my dad is going up to measure in
>                                 a few weeks) and I can figure out what
>                                 kind of moment could be applied safely
>                                 to the toe rail if one could find a
>                                 way to apply the load evenly.
>
>                                 Anders
>
>                                 On 01/28/2011 04:06 PM, Don Strong wrote:
>                                 The toe rail really is not that
>                                 tough.  As well, in salty boats as old
>                                 as mine (1980), the toe rail has some
>                                 indication of chemical decomposition
>                                 along the bottom side. I treat my toe
>                                 rail with care. Like the rest of this
>                                 wonderful 30 year old device, I hope
>                                 it lasts longer than I last.
>                                 Don
>
>                                 On 1/28/11 2:15 PM, Anders Finn wrote:
>                                 Think about pivot point. If there is
>                                 indeed only two bolts, the only thing
>                                 keeping it from pivoting is
>                                 compression between the plate and the
>                                 toe rail. The bolts are there simply
>                                 to provide a leverage point. That's
>                                 what concerns me.
>
>                                 Anders
>
>                                 On 01/28/2011 02:13 PM, Chuck Finn wrote:
>                                 This type of fitting is used by:  C&C,
>                                 Hunter, PDQ, Bayfield, and Freedom
>                                 yachts.  I think the footprint is the
>                                 entire toerail, which is significantly
>                                 stronger than our pad fastened to a
>                                 plywood deck....   If I was to worry
>                                 about strength, it would be the shear
>                                 force exerted on the bolts if the
>                                 toerail stanchion base is not a good
>                                 fit with our toerail...  I would weld
>                                 the stanchion to the base rather than
>                                 rely on the throughbolt.  I can also
>                                 comment on the strength of at least
>                                 the C&C toerail as I have raced these
>                                 boats and that means bounced a time or
>                                 two off the lines and stanchions! 
>                                 Have crewed Hunters as well, but don't
>                                 remember the stanchion design.
>
>                                 I think my next step will be to
>                                 contact Garhauer as they are reputed
>                                 to have first made our toerail.  I
>                                 also could easily fabricate my own
>                                 bases that would incorporate Ander's
>                                 ideas.
>
>                                 But, will it look pretty?
>
>                                 Chuck Finn
>                                 Mighty Quinn #114
>                                 Great Lakes
>
>
>                                 On 1/28/2011 4:16 PM, Anders Finn wrote:
>                                 Yeah, I just got a chance to look at
>                                 this. I think Steve is right here
>                                 about a large drop in torsional
>                                 resistance. However, that being said,
>                                 those stanchions forward of the
>                                 cockpit are not really THAT strong. I
>                                 would like to see at least a three
>                                 bolt design with a larger outer plate
>                                 to provide some surface to disperse
>                                 the torque to the hull.
>
>                                 Anders
>
>                                 PS. They say they're used on Freedom
>                                 32's however, from pictures, I can't
>                                 see anything resembling a toe rail
>                                 that would support load on them.
>
>
>                                 On 01/28/2011 12:42 PM, S Orton wrote:
>                                 Chuck,  If I understand the concept
>                                 correctly, it is a very poor
>                                 structural design.  There is no foot
>                                 print to react the outward cantilever
>                                 force on the stantion- you need a four
>                                 bolt pattern to react this force in
>                                 all directions and I only saw two
>                                 fasteners parallel to the toe rail.
>                                 Cheers, Steve O
>
>                                 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                                 Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:27:31 -0500
>                                 From: charles at finn.ws
>                                 <mailto:charles at finn.ws>
>                                 To: listserve at catalina38.org
>                                 <mailto:listserve at catalina38.org>
>                                 Subject: Re: [C38] Stanchions
>
>                                 Max,
>                                 Here is the rigrite url:
>                                 http://www.rigrite.com/Hardware/Stanchions_&_Bases/Stanchion_Bases_SS.html#SS%20Stanchion%20Bases%20that%20Attach%20to%20Toerail
>                                 <http://www.rigrite.com/Hardware/Stanchions_&_Bases/Stanchion_Bases_SS.html#SS%20Stanchion%20Bases%20that%20Attach%20to%20Toerail>
>
>                                 As you can see, this would put the
>                                 stanchion on the outside edge of our
>                                 toerail and would eliminate the base. 
>                                 This would result in a lot of room on
>                                 the deck.  I am thinking of using two
>                                 of the bases for the gate and then
>                                 moving forward.  My issue about this
>                                 would look is that I will have to
>                                 connect to the stern rails and bow
>                                 pulpit, which would remain as they are.
>                                 I would also have to fill all the
>                                 holes in the deck from where the
>                                 plates were and re-route the holding
>                                 tank vent, but that would be worth it
>                                 for the extra room on deck and the
>                                 elimination of possible leaks.
>
>                                 What to our C38 folks think?
>
>                                 Chuck Finn
>                                 Mighty Quinn #114
>                                 Great Lakes
>
>
>                                 On 1/27/2011 11:21 AM, Max Soto wrote:
>                                 Chuck, Did you send a link for the
>                                 rigrite stanchions?
>                                  Regards,
>
>                                 Max
>
>                                 2011/1/26 Chuck Finn <charles at finn.ws
>                                 <mailto:charles at finn.ws>>
>                                 One way I know it is sailing season is
>                                 the scrape on my shin obtained as I
>                                 climb from the cabin to the cockpit. 
>                                 The other wound is the bruises on the
>                                 side of both legs as I bang into the
>                                 stanchions.  I love the look of our
>                                 boats, but the design idea that the
>                                 stanchions should follow the inward
>                                 bend of the tumblehome really does not
>                                 work for me.  There just is not enough
>                                 deck for a guy my size.  I am still
>                                 considering bending and re-welding the
>                                 current stanchions into a vertical
>                                 position, but perhaps even a better
>                                 solution would be to remove the
>                                 current stanchions altogether and
>                                 going with a toe rail stanchion like
>                                 you see on C&C yachts. Rigrite.com
>                                 <http://rigrite.com/> has these.  
>                                 Attaching stanchions directly to our
>                                 toerail seems to be a viable option as
>                                 the rail is really heavy duty. 
>                                 Additionally, you can buy the bases
>                                 and use the current tubing assuming it
>                                 is not the light weight stuff Tom has
>                                 commented on.   This would give us a
>                                 lot more deck space for size 11 feet.
>                                 Just thinking aloud at this point, but
>                                 I really am tired of the bruising!
>
>                                 Chuck Finn
>                                 Mighty Quinn #114
>                                 Great Lakes
>
>
>                                 On 1/25/2011 3:25 PM, Max Soto wrote:
>                                 Good to know that they share the same
>                                 foot print... If the removable
>                                 stanchion's base also fits, I'll go
>                                 for that one next time..... A little
>                                 heavier, but if they bend, it will be
>                                 so much easier to replace.......
>                                 Thanks, Max
>
>                                 2011/1/25 Steven Ribble
>                                 <steve.ribble at gmail.com
>                                 <mailto:steve.ribble at gmail.com>>
>                                 Max, yes...same foot print.  Garhauer
>                                 has a square-ish base that I think are
>                                 for removable stanchions and a one
>                                 that's trapezoidal for the solid/fixed
>                                 type, which is what mine are (also
>                                 characterized by the "flat top").  I
>                                 can't speak to the quality comment
>                                 that Tom refers to, I just know mine
>                                 have been on the boat for 30 years and
>                                 only needed to be replaced because the
>                                 over-wintering force exerted by the
>                                 shrinkwrap caused them to bend.  I
>                                 thought I saw reinforced/gate style
>                                 stanchions on their website, but don't
>                                 know about the footprint.
>
>                                 On Tue, Jan 25, 2011 at 12:13 PM, Tom
>                                 T. <tdtron at earthlink.net
>                                 <mailto:tdtron at earthlink.net>> wrote:
>
>                                 After hurricane Dennis (the Menace)
>                                 skirted Tampa Bay a few years ago with
>                                 a near miss, we got tangled up with a
>                                 piling with the surge and had our
>                                 starboard lifelines damaged along with
>                                 the stanchions on that side.
>
>                                 I replaced the stanchions near the
>                                 rail at the aft end of the cabin
>                                 with Catalina Direct stanchions. I
>                                 replaced both sides so they would
>                                 match.  My boat had standard
>                                 stanchions and those stanchions should
>                                 have been the reinforced gate entry
>                                 types which are heavier and more
>                                 expensive.
>
>                                 I didn't shop Garhauer and I probably
>                                 should have but the original
>                                 stanchions were JUNK so anything was
>                                 an upgrade!  The metal in the
>                                 replacement stanchions was much
>                                 heavier gage and with the reinforced
>                                 foot design of the gate type stanchion
>                                 there was no comparison between
>                                 quality or strength of the two types.
>
>                                 The reason I bring this up is some of
>                                 our members may have stanchions like
>                                 the ones I replaced which may be a
>                                 disaster waiting to happen.  If the
>                                 stanchions at the front of the gate
>                                 are like the thin, weak ones like I
>                                 had they could fail.  The thin tube
>                                 original stanchions may be OK for
>                                 middle of the lifeline mounts but
>                                 where the gates terminate they are
>                                 inadequate
>
>                                 Tom Troncalli
>
>                                     ----- Original Message -----
>                                     *From:*Max Soto
>                                     <mailto:maxsoto at gmail.com>
>                                     *To: *Catalina 38 Listserve
>                                     <mailto:listserve at catalina38.org>
>                                     *Sent:*1/25/2011 12:00:20 PM
>                                     *Subject:*Re: [C38] Stanchions
>
>                                     Steve, do they have the same
>                                     footprint???
>                                     Regards, max
>
>                                     Sent from my iPod
>
>
>                                     On Jan 25, 2011, at 9:30 AM,
>                                     Steven Ribble
>                                     <steve.ribble at gmail.com
>                                     <mailto:steve.ribble at gmail.com>>
>                                     wrote:
>
>                                         Our stanchions are
>                                         Garhauer...I replaced a couple
>                                         last season...about $50 each.
>
>                                         On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 7:06
>                                         PM, Max Soto
>                                         <maxsoto at gmail.com
>                                         <mailto:maxsoto at gmail.com>> wrote:
>                                         Hey Steve,
>
>                                         I'm not surprised if they were
>                                         made by Garhauer......
>
>                                         Regards,
>
>                                         Max
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________ Listserve mailing list 
> Listserve at catalina38.org 
> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Listserve mailing list
> Listserve at catalina38.org
> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://catalina38.org/pipermail/listserve_catalina38.org/attachments/20110131/a7f2af48/attachment-0001.htm>


More information about the Listserve mailing list