Pushpit

[Killick69]

Whilst my son was out sailing yesterday 2 of the attachment points of the Pushpit failed on the Port side. From his description it sound like the bolts sheared. Anyway it sounds like a tricky job, as there must have been water ingress over the years and mega corrosion for this to occur. I now have the golden opportunity to remove, straighten and refit the Pushpit properly. I had noticed when I bought Night Cap that the pushpit is bent (obviously took a knock from astern on the port side). Maybe the impact weakened the bolts on this side. Has anyone refitted a pushpit? Any knowledge you can pass on will be most welcome. Also if anyone knows of a good place to take the pushpit for straightening (and any repair (welding possibly) that too would be much appreciated. Cheers, John.

P.S. The next few hours available had been allocated to sanding the coach house roof grab rails. Oh well, have to move this time to the new priority.

[Dolphin]

John, I have reworked the pushpit twice.
The studs on the bottom are welded onto flat washers that are welded to the verticals and the weld filled and faired. The studs fatigue off as there is a lot of stress on it and as you said the pushpit has taken a hit.
What you may have to do is take it off, give it to a welder, or do it yourself. If you do that measure the position of the holes, or make a template, so he can make sure the studs are in the right place.
It looks quite flimsy when you get it off but it is hard to get the studs to line up if its out a bit, say more than 15mm and then you are putting stress on it.
I had to get a section replaced after the boats mooring broke and the welder cut a new piece in and polished it.
When you put it back on, you may have to countersink the holes in the deck to accomodate the weld. This gives you a bigger and better surface area to seal and it is stronger. The originals were very lightly welded.
Hope it helps, Greg.

[Killick69]

Thanks Greg, that is good info.
How about the following approach. Big washers and weld these so that they sit under the vertical sections of the pushpit (so weld is on the outside of the vertical and above the washer). Hole in washer, with bolt 'hanging' from the washer. This will make it easy to locate the bolt in the deck holes (can move bolt around). This means one must prevent bolt from slipping up and into the vertical, until such time as it is located thru the hole in GRP. This also gives large contact area (large sealing area also) on deck. The bolt end, washer that goes under deck and nut can align with underside of deck. The welding is relatively easy. Only negative that I can see is cosmetic, which is not my major concern.

Comments please.

[Dolphin]

John,
You don't need to re-invent the wheel. You're creating more problems for yourself.
The reason it snapped is that the weld is too light. Beef up the weld, countersink the hole to fit and its fixed! They usually only break if they've been hit or mistreated. Because of the flare on the pushpit mine used to hit mooring pylons and wharves.
How are you going to hold the bolt when you are doing it up?
KISS it.

Greg.

[Miker]

I just had the pulpit on Dulcamara done because it was all a bit too wobbly.

The forward stud on the starboard side had snapped, so I had the riggers do it while they were under there doing the bow chainplate/roller which also needed some welding.

They took the pulpit out, welded new bolts to some larger washers, then welded the washers on to the feet of the uprights. Apparently Stainless is a doddle to weld, and the new feet which are now 2" in diameter, instead of 1" look like they were original. If you make sure the studs/bolts are centred in the same place as the old ones, location of the holes is easy. They also pickled the welds and polished the whole thing before putting it back on the boat. Make sure you have a similar sized backing washer in either stainless or Aluminium on the underside of the deck to take the stress. Don't over do the silicone/sika when you replace it either, if the fittings are all qood quality, you'll hopefully get a perfect seal without any sika bulging out. Mine look perfectly original.

I know you said pushpit, but the fitting is identical and the bases are the same.

[Killick69]

What is the attachment point you fellas and ladies use to tie the dinghy painter to? I am thinking once the pushpit is refitted good (or better than original) I will want to minimise strain on it. Thinking about towing a dinghy (or even when tied alongside/astern), there is a constant tugging on the securing point (not too severe, but constant) . Is it worthwhile fitting a dedicated attachment point for the dinghy? Maybe a u-bolt alongside one of the chainplates that the bridle attaches to.

Cheers, John

[Sean Spence]

After towing a dinghy that dolphined and took on 50kg+ of water, and trying to reel it in, I'm not keen on towing if a wind will get up. Prefer to strap to the transom. Astonishing the force even on the empty dinghy & if it's inflatable you've got to wonder if the painter patch on the rubber will hold...

[Miker]

What is the attachment point you fellas and ladies use to tie the dinghy painter to? snippity...... Is it worthwhile fitting a dedicated attachment point for the dinghy? Maybe a u-bolt alongside one of the chainplates that the bridle attaches to.
Cheers, John

John, I tie mine on the starboard vertical of the pushpit, down low. That is, if I'm staying inside Pittwater/Broken/Brisbane Water. Sometimes, to spread the love, I'll tie it on to the aft chainplate u-bolt instead. If you wanted to, you could drill another couple of holes in your transom near the pushpit and put a dedicated cleat for the dinghy. If I go outside, I either leave it behind or pull it up on the forward deck.

Sean, I've been towing a rubber dinghy with a 2.5 Merc attached (tilted) for the last three years. There doesn't seem to be any visible strain, but I think this is because, as I said above, I only tow in relatively calm water.

[Sean Spence]

Michael I was green - only the third trip. The port phillip late afternoon chop & 25 kn are things I now respect better!

[Miker]

Michael I was green - only the third trip. The port phillip late afternoon chop & 25 kn are things I now respect better!

Sean, some would say I'm still green!