Johanna,

My Express (Hull #80) has the same problem on one of the aft stanchions. It was a New England boat and freezing water in the holes probably didn't help. However, I think the real problem is that a lot of stress gets placed on these stanchions by hiking and roll-tacking (the one with the problem was bent when I bought the boat). I'm thinking that this causes deeper cracks to begin forming in the below-decks supports and makes it easier for water to get in. It's probably a little better on the boats with 12" stanchions, but then the stress is made worse again if the lifelines aren't run all the way back to the stern pulpit, which mine are not. Long story short, Annapolis Performance Sailing sells stanchion supports for J-24s that I will be adding this off season in addition to fixing the fiberglass. They can be serious ankle-busters, but I'll feel better with them on...now I just have to convince the crew to sacrifice comfort for piece of mind...

-Jason

Doug Poland on 11/16/101 10:44 AM said:

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>>Ralph is right that those cracks can be easily repaired, but if you don't do it yourself, it can be somewhat costly to have the cracks glassed, sanded, and painted. I store my boat outside in Chicago over the winter. The first winter I owned the boat, I tried to protect it by putting a tarp over it, but that was blown off and shredded in a matter of weeks, just before the first big snowstorm. So, I got water in each of the stanchion wells, which led to cracks that I had repaired for about $360.

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>>There are, obviously, other vulnerable parts of the deck in addition to the stanchion wells; fiberglass and ice just don't mix very well. I have had my boat completely shrink-wrapped by my boatyard each winter since then (about $350 each year) and have had no problems. The boat is also much easier to clean up in the Spring, and if you have a zippered access door put in, you get the added benefit of working on the boat over the winter. If you choose to store your boat outside, I would recommend shrink-wrapping if it's available in your area.

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>>Doug Poland

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>>#99 Surrender Dorothy

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