dealing with a dented bow pulpit

[aclevername]

So I was trying to do a u-turn in a somewhat narrow channel, turning into the wind. Wasn't able to turn far enough fast enough and whacked the bow against a seawall. Not too hard but enough to feel it, and enough to bend my metal bow pulpit tubes so it's a little off kilter.
The real problem is there's now no clearance between my roller furling and the center bar of the bow pulpit. It won't turn easily. Any thoughts on an easy fix?

Doesn't look like there is another good place to attach the headstay and furling unit. Even if, i'd have to disassemble the whole thing which would not be ideal.

Some thoughts:
New bow pulpit ($)
Bang it back into shape with a slegdehammer (i tried a rubber mallet, no effect)
Bang the crossbar out of the way with a sledgehammer
Remove bow pulpit and get professionally straightened at a metal shop

Not so happy with any of these options

[perchance]

A small hydraulic jack if you have the room. A few pictures would go a long way in figuring out a solution.

[delmarrey]

If it's just cocked a bit, you could tie the boat tight in the slip and use a come-a-long to the slip piling, and winch it back over. If it dented a replacement is the only way it'll look good again.

There are shops out there that build pulpits from drawings. Just google "railmakers"

[daddle]

If the fittings are not leaking now they will after you work on it. Best to remove it. Have a shop straighten it. Re-bed it properly.

That said: it is rather bendy and durable material do just pushing on it will solve the immediate problem. That's the normal routine with bent stanchions. If the tube is kinked anywhere it is ruined.

[dcohen]

Find a welder that will come to the boat and works on stainless. He can cut out the problem piece and weld in a new section. That's what I did on my boat!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

If it's just cocked a bit, you could tie the boat tight in the slip and use a come-a-long to the slip piling, and winch it back over. If it dented a replacement is the only way it'll look good again.

There are shops out there that build pulpits from drawings. Just google "railmakers"

I vote for this one. Like he said, unless it's dented or crimped you can make it look almost like new by pulling it out. At the very least you can get your roller furling back to functional in short order.

Have done it with bent fenders and bumpers and came out pretty good. Maybe not good enough for my wife's car but good enough for my truck.

[roverhi]

Use Delmarrey's advice and see if that works. A four part tackle led to a winch will work if you don't have a come along. If the bow pulpit is badly tweaked with kinked tubing, a competent welder can cut out the kinked portion and weld in a new piece and you won't be able to tell where he did it. Yes, you'd probably be advised to pull the pulpit after you'd straightened it as the bedding compound will probably have been compromised. Good time to rout out a bit of the coring, fill with epoxy/filler, redrill the holes and use proper backing plates.

[sartorst]

Try tying a line from side to side in a continuous loop and twist it ??

[aclevername]

Really great comments, thanks guys. I'll be over at the boat this weekend, and I'll post some pictures, just for the sake of it.

[perchance]

Originally Posted by sartorst

Try tying a line from side to side in a continuous loop and twist it ??

The old "Spanish Windlass" trick.

[keepondancin]

If it needs lateral movement, can you use a 2x4 as a lever to put it back in shape, placing it against the hull and inside the pulpit. Be creative. A metal worker is going to use some finesse to get it back. It is metal that takes effort to shape

[hellosailor]

Block and tackle, comealong, jack...brute force gently applied might work, but unless you can immobilize the bases, any movement on them will create leaks. The best way to do this only sounds like the hard way: Unbolt the pulpit, fix it on the hard, take it to a SS welding shop if necessary, then bring it back and reinstall it. Odds are the mounting bolts were getting leaky anyhow and rebedding them is a good investment.

[Aethelwulffe]

Don't try just yanking it back into shape. Metal doesn't work that way.


Remove pulpit. Fill tubes with sand. Pack them tight. Use a pipe bender or what have you to straighten them out. Remove sand. Yaay team.


...and what he ^ said about re-bedding. Use lots and lots and lots of goop. Should squirt out in every direction from hardware base and bolt holes. Clean off wet. Fun.