Stanchion Tubes

[SailRedemption]

I am wanting to purchase new 1" stanchion tubes for our boat about 28-30" tall. The Vetus ones are 316 stainless for around $100. Garhauer sells them for $45 but they are 304 stainless. Does anyone know if the two grades make a difference? Do the 304 rust/tarnish faster? Is the 316 Vetus ones worth it?

[Matt Johnson]

Garhauer uses the same tube for their davits, and I never had a rusting issue with them. I'd think the 304 would be fine.

Matt

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Garhauer uses the same tube for their davits, and I never had a rusting issue with them. I'd think the 304 would be fine.

Matt

Thanks Matt, much appreciated.

[Cheechako]

316 is better, but with care either is fine. What is just as important is how well polished they are. A mirror like polish will corrode much less than just a simple chemical polish which appears more satin look.
Are there no options between those? Have you checked Ebay etc?

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

316 is better, but with care either is fine. What is just as important is how well polished they are. A mirror like polish will corrode much less than just a simple chemical polish which appears more satin look.
Are there no options between those? Have you checked Ebay etc?

Well, Suncor has some but they are more expensive for 304 than Garhauer. I'm wanting to run NER STS synthetic line through these so I need sleeved or solid lifeline holes. I'm spending money, so I'd like to do it once. But, I need 12 stanchions and that's a huge difference between the two brands in price.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by SailRedemption

Well, Suncor has some but they are more expensive for 304 than Garhauer. I'm wanting to run NER STS synthetic line through these so I need sleeved or solid lifeline holes. I'm spending money, so I'd like to do it once. But, I need 12 stanchions and that's a huge difference between the two brands in price.

Do these fit? 316 SS, tapered, $35 one or two hole...
https://www.waveinn.com/nautical-fis...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

[psk125]

We went to a junkyard and found 316 ss tubing that matched our old stanchions base size. They were selling it for about $3.50 a pound. It had come from a hospital that was reworking their oxygen supply system. We got enough to re-do all our stanchions (eight?) for about $60. We did have to cut the pieces to length, drill them for the mid-level lifelines and add Sea-Dog fittings at the tops for the upper lifeline and to finish them off so they looked nice. It was well worth the hour and a half it took to do the work and install them.

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Do these fit? 316 SS, tapered, $35 one or two hole...
https://www.waveinn.com/nautical-fis...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks, I asked a question about the tubes on that site to see if the lower hole is sleeved or not. But they look like a good price.

[SailRedemption]

Originally Posted by psk125

We went to a junkyard and found 316 ss tubing that matched our old stanchions base size. They were selling it for about $3.50 a pound. It had come from a hospital that was reworking their oxygen supply system. We got enough to re-do all our stanchions (eight?) for about $60. We did have to cut the pieces to length, drill them for the mid-level lifelines and add Sea-Dog fittings at the tops for the upper lifeline and to finish them off so they looked nice. It was well worth the hour and a half it took to do the work and install them.

Thanks for the tip, but honestly we're ready to get going at this point so searching our nearest yard probably won't be happening. A couple years ago, I'd be singing a different song.