11.0 - has anyone removed all chainplates?

Aug 3, 2019
40
S2 11.0a Duncan Bay, Lake Huron
Next spring I plan to pull all chainplates, remove any core rot (if there) and fill with thickened epoxy/recut slots, re-bed plates and covers. Has anyone pulled their chainplates on an 11.0 (a)? I am curious about access in some cases and how the hull liner is managed. I suppose some of this applies to any S2 with that "burlapy" hull liner.

Thanks -

Matt
 
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BobM

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Jun 10, 2004
3,269
S2 9.2A Winthrop, MA
There is no "hull liner" in the S2's, to my knowledge. Certainly there is none in the 9.2 and the 11.0 is quite similar. I can see all the chainplates in my 9.2A. Start opening doors and looking around. But I suggest you consider replacing the chainplates, or at least getting them magnafluxes or similar to look for cracks. Chainplates Express - Home and others sell replacements. Just pull the liner off and when you want to put it back just spray the surface of the hull and burlap with 3M contact adhesive and reapply.
 
Aug 3, 2019
40
S2 11.0a Duncan Bay, Lake Huron
Thanks, Bob.

The burlap is the hull liner I was talking about. I have looked at each plate area, but have not dismantled cabinets, etc yet to look at each of the six. A few look easy to get to, a few look challenging (forward lowers, for instance.)
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Pulling chainplates off is a sound maintenance project. Most owners will never have to do it. But when you are working with a 40 year old boat and you are considering sailing in open water or big water it is a reasonable project. If you suspect water issues like wet deck area, it is possible you will discover crevice corrosion.
It might look like much, but you can discover where water has sat on stainless that the lack of oxygen can breed corrosion inside the metal piece.
I found a little bit on my 40 year old chainplates. I was able to grind down and polish out the damage without affecting the strength of the material. Each project is different.

Good luck with the task and let me know how it goes.
 
Jan 25, 2011
2,391
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
One thing you might try if you're concerned about core rot on the gusset. Slack the stay and remove from the plate. Go inside and tape the gusset the plate bolted through and listen for any thuds...sorta like tapping the hull. You might have to pull the plate. Also peel back the cloth and drill a SMALL hole near the top of the gusset and see what comes out with the drill. Also, if there are no water stains in the carpet around the deck penetration, chances are good that things are ok. I’ve never done what I described but it seems reasonable. Chainplate leaks are notorious for your boat. I feel the carpet near the plate every trip to the boat. I used to have to rebed at least every two yrs using polysulfide. Three yrs ago, I used butyl tape from Mainsail and have had no leaks since.
 

BobM

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Jun 10, 2004
3,269
S2 9.2A Winthrop, MA
The gussett being the wood that the chainplate is bolted to I assume? Also worth checking the bolt holes through the gussetts to make sure they aren't elongated.
 

BobM

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Jun 10, 2004
3,269
S2 9.2A Winthrop, MA
BTW if anyone local to me wants some butyl tape I think I have a lifetime supply lol.
 
Aug 3, 2019
40
S2 11.0a Duncan Bay, Lake Huron
Update: The boat is in its cradle now. I removed one lower and pulled the chainplate out. Looks like some previous owner already filled the area around the opening with epoxy. Yay - that makes my job a lot easier. I did clean out all the old sealant and replaced with butyl rubber and put the cover back. One down, five to go!

Question for 11.0a owners: For the upper the chainplate bolts are extra long. I have not pealed back the fabric on the wall to investigate, but the nuts are in the head...looks like about a foot from the chainplate. What is going on in the middle of that space forward of the upper chainplate between the plate and the bulkhead?

Matt
 

Tweedy

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Jan 3, 2020
1
S2 8.5 Dana Point, CA
Next spring I plan to pull all chainplates, remove any core rot (if there) and fill with thickened epoxy/recut slots, re-bed plates and covers. Has anyone pulled their chainplates on an 11.0 (a)? I am curious about access in some cases and how the hull liner is managed. I suppose some of this applies to any S2 with that "burlapy" hull liner.

Thanks -

Matt
I removed the chainplates on My 8.5 at the time I re-bedded all the deck hardware and they all looked good, just gave them a good polish , and reinstalled. an easy job. I did seal off the deck core in the chainplate openings with epoxy before I reinstalled them. I did not remove aft chainplate.
 
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Dec 12, 2015
10
S2 11C Vallejo Yacht Club
We have an 11C and re bedded all 6 chainplates last summer when we took down the mast, repainted it, all new rigging and lifelines. We took apart cabinets, I removed all of the burlap liner--am taking it off the entire boat--we cleaned them up and rebedded. We did not use butyl, used LifeSeal. (LifeSeal above the water line, LifeCaulk below the waterline, always.) Butyl tape is best used for anything that is trough-bolted. Our trim plates just screw into the deck, so LifeSeal is a better choice. We had a cosmetic crack in one of the chainplates, so we had a new one fabricated. I don't think they have ever been re bedded, and a couple of them had obvious long-term leaks, so the deck core around several of the chainplates was dust. We dug out at least 2" and then filled with epoxy. The great thing is these boats are built so well, they are very forgiving in repairs. We LOVE our S2.
 
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May 29, 2020
5
S2 9.2A Lanoka Harbor, NJ
Last season I replaced all of the chainplates due to the age of the boat. My mindset, 40 year old boat+most important piece of rigging on the boat= worth the time and effort to replace. One thing that is misleading with stainless is that it may look fine after a good polish but the mix of metals at the microscopic level could be missing. You also have to take them off to inspect both sides. They could look great on the side exposed to air but pitted on the backside from unseen water damage. Unless it was scanned under a scope, you can’t be sure. And this would require you to remove it so, while it’s off. Just replace them. I had a local stainless shop make 6 replacements at roughly 1K. Inside the boat, 9.2A the plates were all bedded next to fiberglass gussets which bolted through and had an aluminum backing plate. All easy to access and not too tough to remove the bolts.
 
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