pulpit repair

[miss birdie]

Hi, New member here and is in need of some information. I have a 1983 Mainship Mark III with a damaged pulpit. Would like info if possible on removing the pulpit so it can be properly repaired.

 

[RedRascal]

Welcome to the forum. Lot's of knowledge here and you'll get good input from folks. One thing that always helps is to provide extra info about the problem and a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Does the pulpit have gelcoat cracks, damage from a collision or is it starting to flex from rot or delamination? Some more info from you will help guide the suggestions.

 

[Gdavid]

I believe you can access most of the hardware for the anchor pulpit from the anchor locker, from the v-berth in the cabin, open the access in the middle of the center bulkhead and look up for the hardware.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. Put some photos of all the different sides so we can make intelligent suggestions.

 

[miss birdie]

Damaged pulpit

Attached are pictures of the damage to the pulpit.
Any suggestions on repair possibilities would be appreciated.

 

[Comodave]

Ok, it must be bolted down or the windlass is bolted down holding both. Look underneath and see if there are bolts with nuts on them. You will have to remove the bolts holding it all down. Then access the condition of the pulpit. It looks to be pretty well cracked. Don’t know if it would be easier to try and fix it or just make a new one. We replaced a pulpit on a previous boat with one made out of a teak look alike. Got it from a company called PlasTeak. It was a nice product. If you are good with fiberglass work you may be able to repair the broken one, if not something like PlasTeak may work.

 

[SteveK]

are the stainless supports installed to hold it in place until repaired or were they there before?

 

[BruceK]

Looking at pic 3 there doesn`t seem to be much underneath reinforcing the outer fiberglass shell. The vertical supports are novel to me, maybe it failed previously and they were the fix.
I`d agree with removing it to assess properly. Maybe the 2 halves can be given a solid reinforcing timber core support and the whole assembly glassed back together with the new core and refitted.

 

[SteveK]

The pulpit is sitting on a raised flat surface, not in a well. Not sure of pulpit material, could be a plastic. If F/G then yes some glassing on bottom. I would consider 2' stainless angle to support it, to bolt it together. Maybe a flat stainless over the break line, top bottom.
Cost of new compared to a rebuild, I would opt rebuild.

Bruce I saw the same, a previous fix that I would get rid of.

 

[RedRascal]

Thanks for the pictures, they really help to understand the problem. I am in the repair it camp. I am sure it will require cutting out the old core and glassing in a new core in addition to repairing the crack on the topside of the pulpit. All doable if you are comfortable doing DIY fiberglass projects. You also may be able to find an used pulpit however it's possible an used pulpit will have a rotten core which will still require a core replacement. If using a yard for the repair I would have them bid on building a new one and a bid for doing the repair.

Good luck!

 

[jcurry]

I had the pulpit off my 1086 MK III and it is time consuming but not difficult. Remove the bow rail and vertical support bolts. Remove the windlass and mooring cleats as they are bolted through the windlass base. The pulpit can then be removed. I think you are in for a new pulpit because the core is probably rotted and almost certainly wet. You can make one by building up layers of Coosa board to the thickness of the original core and then laying up fiberglass to the same thickness as on the old pulpit. I would use fg. mat and polyester resin, no need for epoxy here. I built a stern platform for my MK III this way and it is a simple job.
Jim Curry

 

[jcurry]

Should have said 1986 MK III

Jim Curry

 

[Nepidae]

Pulpit repair

I saw a mention of a SS part for repair on the pulpit.

You will find SS a rather expensive item for repair and you could encounter rust down the river.

I installed a Lofrans Tigress windlass on my pulpit and used FRP as the backing plate after SS was suggested and i got a price for it. Very strong and no chance of rust.

I got mine from McMaster-Carr.

Good luck.