1984 31

[gr8_2_av8]

I am planning to rebed the chainplates on my 31. There are four large philips "screws" on each plate on the deck. There is the stainless rod that goes down into the cabin into a structural member. Can someone describe to me how that would be actually inside the deck. Is the chainplate actually welded to the rod? Are the four screws just to keep the cahin plate "square" when tightening the nut at the bottom of the rod?? I guess the same goes for the mast base plate. It sits atop the deck with 4 screws in the corners as well. Is the only possible entry of water around those screws, or if removing the plate will it expose deck core??Dave

 

[DJ Sailor]

1984 34 Chainplates

The 31 and 34 are similar so I figured I'd take a stab at this. I have not done this yet but talked to Hunter and have looked at doing it. The rod that goes into the boat is attached to the outer plate on the deck (with the 4 screws in each corner.) This rod is threaded into a steel angle beam within the fiberglass pan/inner liner. Note that if you remove the 4 screws on the deck and then turn the plate to loosen the rod from the angle beam, this beam will drop to the bottom of the space between the pan and the hull. I was told that it is quite expensive to cut into the fiberglass to recover this beam and then put in new fiberglass to close the opening. There is a hole in the pan/inner liner (reachable from inside the locker space under the cabinets) to put in a bolt and washer in to hold the steel beam to the top of the space so you can safely remove the chain plate and not have this beam drop. You can then clean and inspect the chain plate rod, caulk, and reinstall it.Hope this helps,DJ