Rebedding a few stanchion bases. Mine have a short 2" or so tube that is welded to a rectangle 3/16" or so thick plate. The Stanchion slides inside this tube. There is no bottom of the plate under the tube portion, so any water that collects inside the base sits on the deck. Each base is fastened with 4 1/4" x 20 bolts, through-bolted, with good backing pads fiberglassed to the underside of the hull. My Bases do not have weep or drain holes ... or at least I don't think they do. Each base has a hole on either side, 180 degrees away, these holes are maybe 3/4" up from the bottom ... and these had a bolt thru-bolted. And then another hole maybe an inch higher than that only on the inboard side, and in these were tapped 1/2" screws that are also tapped through the Stanchion.

I'm wondering if I should relieve the SS Stanchion Base, for a weep hole ? Looking at photos of stanchion bases on-line, I don't see any that have accommodations for draining water from inside. I could either drill a drain hole in the bottom of the tube, just above the weld. But this would still trap a 1/2" or so of water. Or, I could make a "tunnel" in the bottom / underside of the Base were it seats on the deck, and draining outboard or the lowest part of the Base. I'll have a machine shop do the work. Either option I can keep clean with a coat hanger or pipe cleaner.

Suggestions ?

Thanks, cheers, John