Stanchion and Stern Rail Tube Size

MFC · Post by **MFC** » Oct 18th, '11, 14:45

Hi -

I am away from the boat and looking to purchase some hardware.

A couple of quick questions:

1. What diameter is the tubing used for the stanchions (7/8" or 1")? Is the stern rail the same?

2. Any suggested suppliers for bimini / rail hardware.

Boat is a 330 (thinnk all CD's -- certainly all larger CD's will be the same)

Thanks,
Matt

Kevin Kaldenbach · Post by **Kevin Kaldenbach** » Oct 18th, '11, 16:18

1 inch .065 wall tubing,

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Oct 18th, '11, 18:54

Yep, all 1" on the larger CDs, not sure if any of the smaller ones go down to 7/8, but a 33 will certainly be 1".

MFC · Post by **MFC** » Oct 18th, '11, 19:32

I think I am going to take a stab at making a stanchion mount for a solar panel or two. Not sure whether it will come before or after our trip, but I am trying to work out the details now.

Any suggestions for sourcing the stainless bits (the jaw slides and the eye ends) and other parts? The usual marine supply suspects have them, but I am pretty tight fisted these days and looking for a bit more . . .

TIA

Matt

K Chiswell · Post by **K Chiswell** » Oct 21st, '11, 12:32

Matt

I'm in the process of building a solar panel mount that will also serve as a bimini. I bought my hardware from http://www.marinepartdepot.com/. When I bought it it was the best price I could find. I do a good bit of work with a local machine shop so they are going to get my SS tube so I can't help with that. My boat is also a 330 and if you are interested I would be happy to share my design with you. Send me a PM and I will send you a pdf of what I am doing.

MFC · Post by **MFC** » Oct 21st, '11, 12:46

Thanks Ken. I'll send you a PM with my email address.

You had an okay experience with MPD? Their online reviews were so bad I passed on them. They do have good prices on a variety of stuff.

I have kind of tabled the solar panel installation for now. My first thought was to go with the stanchion installation but the size of the panles (135's) concerned me. Then I saw these bimini attachments that Gemini sells:

http://www.geminicanvas.com/slidingmounts.htm

They seem like they may offer a pretty simple alternative (4 of them and some cross members to bolt the panels onto).

I am going to let that idea stew for a bit . . .. I would love to see your plans in the meantime.

Thanks.
Matt

Kevin Kaldenbach · Post by **Kevin Kaldenbach** » Oct 21st, '11, 13:45

I too am building solar panel mounts. My boat is 1400 miles away from me so what I did is make a rack out of aluminum pipe. If all goes well it should be somewhat adjustable and fit several boats. It will also allow for the panels to rotate to follow the sun. Next week I will pick the boat up in Demopolis Alabama and take it to the CDSOA get together in Fairhope. I do not know if the panels will be mounted yet or not. Most likely they will. If not the pieces will all be on the boat. As far as panels go I went with two 90 watt and a Morningstar MPPT controller. As far as SS tube for Biminis and railing the wall thickness is important. I bought all new stations for my CD31 but the seller misrepresented them and they were ridiculously thin. Be careful.
Kevin

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » Oct 21st, '11, 14:11

Kevin Kaldenbach wrote:As far as SS tube for Biminis and railing the wall thickness is important. I bought all new stations for my CD31 but the seller misrepresented them and they were ridiculously thin. Be careful.
Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Good point, buyer beware.

Most times, pipe, tubing and hoses are designated by their inside diameter, (ID). I would think that the guage of the material being used is also important.

Is the .065" wall thickness you mentioned an OK gauge to use, or is it the gauge that you regard as ridiculously thin?

Some of the stantion sizes mentioned were 1". I'm wondering does this 1" designate the ID , or the OD of the tubing?

Good luck with your project.
O J

Kevin Kaldenbach · Post by **Kevin Kaldenbach** » Oct 21st, '11, 15:04

Tubing is measured in OD so one inch is one inch diameter. .065 wall is the desired thickness.

David van den Burgh · Post by **David van den Burgh** » Oct 21st, '11, 17:50

MFC wrote:...Then I saw these bimini attachments that Gemini sells:

http://www.geminicanvas.com/slidingmounts.htm

They seem like they may offer a pretty simple alternative (4 of them and some cross members to bolt the panels onto)...

Thanks.
Matt

Matt,

Be aware that those sliding mounts may not pass over the radius of your bimini frame if it's too tight. Keep that in mind as you work with your canvas person to design the frame.

The Cape Dory Board

Stanchion and Stern Rail Tube Size

Stanchion and Stern Rail Tube Size

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Thanks guys

Ken

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Sliding mounts and tubing radius