Manatee stanchion re-bedding/repair

Hi All:
As part of the leak plugging we are doing our Manatee, we need to re-seal the stanchions. I have am hoping someone knows the construction well enough to assist:

1. Are there backing plates? if there are how do I access them?

2. How thick is the top deck gel coat? I will need to drill through the top layer and clean out the wet core, then fill with 610. I don't want to drill through...

3. I plan to use Butyl tape to seal. Any hints or tricks?

The boat is out of the water and want to get the epoxy work done before it gets too cold here in Chicago.

Thanks
Paul - "OMA"

Check out marinehowto.com. Excellent how to on bedding deck hardware.

Ftbinc said:

2. How thick is the top deck gel coat? I will need to drill through the top layer and clean out the wet core, then fill with 610. I don't want to drill through...

Click to expand...

I don't know what 610 is?


I send the suggestion to check out the marinehowto website for ideas on using the butyl tape.

Six-10 is thickened epoxy in a caulk tube, very handy.

Start with the stern stanchions which backing plates are easy to access in the cockpit overhead. Many of the acorn type nuts will have to be replaced, I choose to replace many with double up s/s nuts to cover the thread ends.
The interior backing plates except the first two aft one that are exposed are accessed by removing the teak trim strip on the top of the bulkheads. You will need a helper topside to help un-fasten the stanchion base screws and to reinstall.
I only rebedded with butyl tape from Compass Marine the cockpit and two salon aft stanchion bases. I found that most still had flexible bedding and had not been leaking into the deck and not the leak source on our Manatee.

I don't seem to have backing plates

I don't have backing plates that I can find anywhere on our Manatee for the stanchions. we are Hull 84 built in '88 at Johnson. Do other owners have backing plates? and if so, which hull numbers?
Thanks
Paul

HiDHo said:

Start with the stern stanchions which backing plates are easy to access in the cockpit overhead. Many of the acorn type nuts will have to be replaced, I choose to replace many with double up s/s nuts to cover the thread ends.
The interior backing plates except the first two aft one that are exposed are accessed by removing the teak trim strip on the top of the bulkheads. You will need a helper topside to help un-fasten the stanchion base screws and to reinstall.
I only rebedded with butyl tape from Compass Marine the cockpit and two salon aft stanchion bases. I found that most still had flexible bedding and had not been leaking into the deck and not the leak source on our Manatee.

Click to expand...

Our 1987 is hull #69 known as KK3669.

Ftbinc said:

I don't have backing plates that I can find anywhere on our Manatee for the stanchions. we are Hull 84 built in '88 at Johnson. Do other owners have backing plates? and if so, which hull numbers?
Thanks
Paul

Click to expand...

Maybe they are imbedded in the fiberglass? If you really don’t have backing plates then you may have a project to add to your to do list. At least some large fender washers but a plate would be preferable.

The Johnson built Manatees had a few build differences for sure. You’ll probably find more lag screws used on stanchions than earlier builds. Cabinets over the galley sink have less depth, and the small step-downs to the galley and stateroom are different. Hand rails were 1/8” larger on the last 10 or so, and clearance in both the lazzarette and the machinery space under the galley is reportedly less.

All butyl tape is not equal. Make sure to buy the Compass Marine stuff and follow their procedure on YouTube.

Project update
Remove do the port and starboard forward stanchions railings, six in all. I drilled 1/2 inch holes on each of the four screw holes. The forward pair of stachions had water penetration (the core was wet). As was the starboard middle (by far the wettest.). Used an Allen wrench to dig out the wet core the best I could. This was Sunday's work.

Today I went by the yard to see if the holes had dried out (inside unheated) the forward holes felt slightly damp still. The middle was still wet. Used a heat gun for 3/4 of an hour to encourage them to dry dasher. The forward ones seemed dry but the middle is still damp.

The plan is to wait in till they are at least dry to the touch the use git rott. Then west system 610. Will use butyl tape (Compass Marine) to re bed. I will tackle the prep work on the rear railings the coming weekend. My plan is to. Suspend the rear railings from the overhead rafters while working the lower it back during the week, while I wait for the holes to dry out.

Any suggestions on how to draw the water out faster? Rice?

Greetings,
Mr. Ft. In a previous life, I used to rinse out damp/wet laboratory glassware (beakers etc.) with either acetone or alcohol and then blow with air. IF the holes are closed bottomed you might try flushing them out with alcohol (methyl is probably the cheapest and easiest to get at a big box store) and then blowing out. Acetone would probably work as well BUT there is a VERY good chance it would damage surrounding varnish.

I use an allen wrench with the short side cut to about 3/8” and chuck it into a drill. I drill the top side of the hole with 1/2” drill. Put the allen wrench into the hole and run the drill to clean out the core around the hole. I have not done it, but I have seen people tap the 1/2” hole and screw a fitting into the fiberglass and hook it to a shop vac and use it to suck out the moisture. When it is dry use liquid epoxy in the hole to seal the core and then suck it out before it goes off. Then fill with thickened epoxy. Redrill, countersink and reinstall the rail with butyl tape as sealant. Good luck.

Stanchion re-bedding KK36-46 HEY JUDE

I agree with all above recommendations following the Compass Marine technique. Prior to 2016 we removed all the stern stanchion plate bolts & replaced the visible misaligned thru bolts, ugly spacers & nuts with appropriate length 1/4" SS screws into epoxy. We overdrilled all the 1/4" holes to 1/2", chewed out neighboring coring with a large nail head that I machined into a circular saw blade & filled the void with epoxy. We applied gel coat to both top & bottom before tapping new holes for the screws. This cleaned up the unsightly spacers, plates & nuts in the aft deck overhead.

Fast forward to Oct 2016 when we moved HEY JUDE 250 miles from Lake Travis to Clear Lake on Galveston Bay to get new canvas & electronics installed prior to motoring to Rockport in the Spring of 2017. Fortunately the dumb-ass trucker, less than 500' from the receiving yard, drove her under a tree hooking the top rail & proceeded to wreck all the railing & un-seated every stanchion from the bow step down to stern...all but the four recently rebedded stern plates. None of the new screws nor plates moved. This accident necessitated that we rebuild almost 100' of railing & 20+ stanchions, every plate & penetration of the deck. We did the same process of over drilling, chewing out coring & filling every hole with epoxy. Here we did follow all the original bolt & nut system. Fortunately we found no coring issues, everything was dry & tight.

This whole process took almost a year but saved HEY JUDE from being destroyed in Rockport by Hurricane Harvey.