During our pre-purchase inspection, our inspector pointed out that one of the stanchions was bent and should be replaced. If you look closely at the one at mid-ship, you can see that it is bent out quite a bit.
I was able to order a new on from Catalina Direct, and I purchased a backing plate as well. The originals did not have backing plates, but it seems like a good way to add extra strength, and I figured it could not hurt.
Unfortunately, the bolts are buried behind the cabinetry. I didn’t want to try to remove the cabinets, and I want to be able to inspect the bolts later, so I chose to cut a hole in the top of the cabinet. Since that location is in the shadows most of the time, I used a black access hatch that I bought on Amazon, to make it look nice.
Before reinstalling, I cleaned up the holes, and rebedded with butyl tape to keep it from leaking. I did all this while we were replacing the lifelines, so they were already out of the way.
