I was sure I had previously unearthed a diagram showing the design of the stanchions. Now can’t find it anywhere.  I headed back to the London metropolitan archives to see if I could find it in the beta 3 file and uncovered something…

 Not exactly what I was looking for but its a start. 

  
    
  
On my visit to Davey (more on this), Peter suggested that these stanchions were hinged at the base. This would make sense as they could then be lowered when the hoses were out and when the monitors started blasting water. Having a railing in the path of high velocity water could result in some unwelcome spray back.

It would be good to get the proportions and overall style right for the stanchions but the hinge is probably surplus to requirements. There are some seriously smart off the shelf stanchions at Davey which have the same triangular base as the originals (there are now rusted stumps that were still attached to the deck but we’re definitely triangular). See excerpt from catalogue below…

The stanchions aren’t as high as I had imagined – more knee to mid thigh height than waist height. When I think about it, this makes sense. They weren’t intended as railings and, at the same height or slightly less  as the top of the striker rail to the middle deck, these proportions make sense. Anything higher would look a bit odd and, given the boat sits pretty low in the water, not really necessary.

There’s the stanchion research so far…