Samson Post installation 390 2000

[suntansailor]

Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these trying virus times. We are on 5 week lock down here on SXM, so am using this time to catch up on trawler "honey do" list action items.

Has anyone installed a Samson Post on their 390? When buying my boat in Florida, my broker gave me a brand new factory S/S Samson Post that PO never installed. Any idea what that option retailed for?

Any tricks on installation? I think thru bolting with reinforce plate in anchor locker should be straight forward, but the bolting through the deck is the big question? Do I remove master cabin headboard mirror to gain access to that area? Any help is appreciated before tearing things apart.

 

[DavidM]

I think a real samson post that is used for tying off the anchor in a blow needs more than just through bolting with a backing plate. Fabricate an L shaped backing plate that extends back to the bulkhead and through bolts to the bulkhead as well. You can have a couple of thousand lbs of load on the samson post in a blow and that load needs to be distributed to boat structure that can take it.

David

 

[Gmarr]

Do you have a pic of this part that shows it’s configuration?

 

[bill.kimbell]

Agree w DavidM. I added windlass to 43' sailboat. Had a fiberglass engineer design structure. Made a L bracket out of hi-tech foam, lots of West system epoxy and many layers of glass. Tied to vertical bulkhead. The Samson post needs much more than a backing plate. You could easily rip the deck out under load.

 

[DrissZougari]

The Samson post look pretty however, you could easily rip the deck out if not secured properly. I have a good size cleat forward of the windless that work better under load.

 

[PM]

A proper Samson post should go through the deck and anchor at the hull, preferably the keel.

You may be aware of the limitations of a through bolted post but you will not be around forever. Just think of an emergency where you bump your head and need a tow. If you arnt able to advise the tow captain, he may very well tie off to the post and rip it right out of its place.

pete

 

[rslifkin]

As long as the backing plate is big enough and the deck is thick enough in that area, it shouldn't be hard to make it stronger than a typical (good) cleat installation. Even more so if you can tie it into a bulkhead.

In other words, unlike a cleat where the bolts will typically fail first, you may end up with a situation where the deck would fail first. But if it's all done well, the force required to make that happen would rip a cleat off anyway and would likely point to either doing something very stupid or a situation well beyond what the boat should be exposed to.

 

[jclays]

I too have a new factory Sampson post to install in my 1997 350. These did not come with a factory installed one.
The deck is a little over an inch thick with a balsa core. There is a 1/2" air gap between the deck and the fiberglass inner shell of the cabin. I understand the factory installed a backing plate between the two shells for the post during assembly. The Sampson post also has six bolts that go thru the anchor locker box to a backing plate inside the box. Most of your strain will be coming from a forward pull not an upward pull. You are not going to get enough force generated to pull that Sampson post through the anchor locker.
I had a fellow yacht club member who was the factory fiberglass warranty repairman for Grand Banks look over this installation situation. Unless you cut out an access panel in the ceiling to mount a plate in the bottom of the deck that option is out the door.
What we have decided to do is over drill the 4 bolt holes in the deck at the foot of the Sampson post and embed stainless steel screw in threaded inserts for metal applications in thickened epoxy. Bolt size is 7/16".
Then Inside the anchor box /locker we will install a large enough backing plate to just about cover the width of the back of the anchor box and bolt thru it.
This is just as strong as the factory installation. If not stronger.
The strain is pulling forward not upward unless you are trying to lift the boat with it.
If I was ever to be in a big blow I would would back this up anyway with a bridle to the two bow cleats.
I will try to do the install in a couple of weeks.

 

[Depot]

Hi clays,
How did you make out?
Steve