Calling all Reliance 44 Owners

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Jul 2, 2009
14
2 Reliance 44 Portsmouth
Ouch!

John and Debbie,

Thank you for the photos (I think!). It looks like we have the same setup with mild steel glassed into the hull with the bar fore and aft. I guess we need to rent a house for this project, I cannot imagine working on it while living aboard. Yikes!

Best,

Green//
 
Dec 23, 2010
7
Reliance 44 Chester
Rusted Chainplates

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DSC00608.JPG

Sounds like all of us have had similar experiences and have gone through much frustration (and expenses) to repair our rusted chain plates. I am having difficulty attaching photos to any of these mailings, but hope these attachments of our latest repairs work.
By grinding out only the exposed portions of the glassed in steel, I found the mild steel encapsulated within the fiberglass was close to the original 1/2" thickness so stopped grinding.
I would be reluctant to encase stainless within the fiberglass as any water infiltration may cause it to erode; stainless must breathe or have new water flushed.
I wonder if anyone has considered through bolting new exterior SS chainplates on the exterior, eliminating the deck leak source.
 
Feb 4, 2010
7
Reliance 44 Cutter Toronto
exterior chain plates

There is a post in the Reliance forum "What numbers are there?" on September 14, 2009 from "svbornfree" (in South Carolina) stating that he or she "is going to go to external chain plates".

I think that's a very good solution to the problems you mentioned. I think this is a classic question that sailors grapple with -- lots of posts about this topic on the internet. As far as I can tell, the only downside to external chain plates is the appearance. It is much easier to inspect the through hull bolts on an externally attached chain plate.

I figured it was a big improvement to replace the exposed soft steel with 316 steel. As for the fibreglass embedded steel, after replacing it with 316 steel, the best I can do for the next 20 years is to make sure the places where the steel enters the fibreglass remain well sealed.

My current thinking is that whatever solution each of us adopts needs to be carefully checked each year; and it's very important to check every place where stainless steel ceases to be exposed to air and either make sure that spot is well sealed (to prevent water penetration) or, if possible, remove or uncover a portion of the unexposed steel to examine it.

Kind regards, John
 

beyond

.
Jan 11, 2011
2
Reliance Reliance 44 Vancouver
Hi Folks,

Could anyone tell me how the keel bolts are set on a R44? Has anybody had any experience either removing for inspection or replacing them.
 
Dec 23, 2010
7
Reliance 44 Chester
Hello Beyond.
My Reliance (Isola Naida #15) has no keel bolts. The ballast is encapsulated within the keel cavity and filled with epoxy which was then glassed over.
I did not know of any that had bolts holding the keel.
Carroll
 
Jul 2, 2009
14
2 Reliance 44 Portsmouth
Hello Beyond.
My Reliance (Isola Naida #15) has no keel bolts. The ballast is encapsulated within the keel cavity and filled with epoxy which was then glassed over.
I did not know of any that had bolts holding the keel.
Carroll
Lyra has encapsulated ballast AND keel bolts. In our case the owner/builder did the ballast himself as he finished the boat from the factory. Typically for him he also had an entire schedule of glass added to the hull during the build. I doubt that either of these is usual, but it illustrates how these boats may differ from one another.
 
Dec 23, 2010
7
Reliance 44 Chester
Interesting.
I am wondering what the keel bolts are supporting with the ballast fully encapsulated and glassed over. ??
Was your vessel originally named Airlia and owned by Diane and Jack Myles? If so we were aboard while she was visiting the LaHave River in Nova Scotia.

Carroll
 
Jul 2, 2009
14
2 Reliance 44 Portsmouth
Interesting.
I am wondering what the keel bolts are supporting with the ballast fully encapsulated and glassed over. ??
Was your vessel originally named Airlia and owned by Diane and Jack Myles? If so we were aboard while she was visiting the LaHave River in Nova Scotia.

Carroll
Carroll, we do own the old Airlia. Jack was not one to take chances where they could be prevented (which means we have a great boat!). The keel bolts are insurance I guess. In a boat with 45000 miles in the electronic log and a circumnavigation I expected to see some bulkhead tabbing problems or some sort of like issue. Thus far there has been nothing of the sort. Unfortunately, she was pretty run down when we found her, but she's slowly coming back together. Living aboard full time with young kids tends to slow the process down a bit!
 

mm08

.
Dec 21, 2008
17
Reliance 44 - -
Hi Carroll,
You are right there are ballast bolts in some of these boats. I am not sure why others put in bolts but I will tell you why I did. My ballast is cast lead. I knew I was only able to melt a limited amount at a time and therefor it would be a stack of layers. My pours ranged from a high of 1700# down to around 400# per layer with most being around 800# each. So my bolts are there to keep the stack together and also as a way to pick it up and lower it into the hull after I cast it. The ballast is lowered into the hull in wet resin “BOG” and then heavily glassed over. The bolts are really only there as a leftover from making and installing the ballast.
Neil
 
Last edited:

beyond

.
Jan 11, 2011
2
Reliance Reliance 44 Vancouver
Hi All,

Thanks for the input with the keel bolts.
I have just purchased the R44 Wanderlust V from Mike Gritten and came across bolts while inspecting the vessel, have since found out that on Wanderlust plates were positioned above and below lead bricks with resin poured in around the bricks.
Since Wanderlust V has taken me over Ive started on replacing the chain plates and have already removed the mizzen plates and opting to have the new ones fabricated out of stainless. So far I have found that the horizontal bars embedded in glass are mostly okay with minimal corrosion however the aft most vertical tangs disintergrated completely upon removal.
Its a messy job and im looking forward to getting it all over and done with, spending all day in the cockpit lockers covered in glass dust is a definite challange!

Andy
 
Dec 1, 2008
13
Reliance 44 - Lelystad Haven, The Netherlands
Hi everyone,

I haven't been around lately and I saw loads of interesting stuff about the ol' chainplates. I will be tearing down my interior for inspection coming weekend. In the mean time I still haven't been able to find my hull number. Not on any bulkhead. I did find an old insurance application by Manfred Obst, the original owner, the stated a number: 808619. I have not been able the match that to any of the HIN numbers. Anybody have any ideas?

Cheers,

--Axel
 
Jul 2, 2009
14
2 Reliance 44 Portsmouth
Hull #

Hi everyone,

I haven't been around lately and I saw loads of interesting stuff about the ol' chainplates. I will be tearing down my interior for inspection coming weekend. In the mean time I still haven't been able to find my hull number. Not on any bulkhead. I did find an old insurance application by Manfred Obst, the original owner, the stated a number: 808619. I have not been able the match that to any of the HIN numbers. Anybody have any ideas?

Cheers,

--Axel
Hello Axel, all of Lyra's documentation uses the hull number (10). We do not have a VIN number.

Best, Green//
 
Dec 1, 2008
13
Reliance 44 - Lelystad Haven, The Netherlands
Re: Hull #

Hi Green,

That's the issue I have: no documentation whatsoever... I have a few bleached out fotocopies of the original brochure and that's it. I have come to understand that the hull number is on one of the forward bulkheads but I haven't been able to locate it there.

Ah wel.. It would be nice to find out which one I have. Maybe one of the members can forward my hullnumber request to Pierre? Mine was originally finished by Manfred Obst somewhere in '92.

--Axel
 
M

Member 41673

Hi Axle - Pierre's contact info is: pierregrumpy@sympatico.ca ph: 514-457-9037 He lives in Canada so contact him at a reasonable time there. He likes to talk about his "babies". Let us know how he's doing - He's pretty old.

Rick
 
M

Member 41673

Re: My dad..

My Dad is also a Reliance 44 owner. He bought the bare hull (I don't remember the hull number) about 8 years ago. He's almost finished construction - and is expecting to start fitting the interior this Fall. My guess is that he'll launch in 2011, just in time for their retirement.

He's not online a lot, so I thought I'd pop in and tell you all about him. And I'll definitely let him know that there's a forum out here.
Hi -

I am compiling a list of all the currrent Reliance 44 owners. You mentioned your dad owns one. What is your dad's name? What is the hull number & boat name> I will only share this list with Pierre (the designer/builder) and the other Reliance owners. You can e-mail my at voyagersail@gmail.com if you prefer.

Thanks

Rick Goltz
 
M

Member 41673

Re: exterior chain plates

There is a post in the Reliance forum "What numbers are there?" on September 14, 2009 from "svbornfree" (in South Carolina) stating that he or she "is going to go to external chain plates".

I think that's a very good solution to the problems you mentioned. I think this is a classic question that sailors grapple with -- lots of posts about this topic on the internet. As far as I can tell, the only downside to external chain plates is the appearance. It is much easier to inspect the through hull bolts on an externally attached chain plate.

I figured it was a big improvement to replace the exposed soft steel with 316 steel. As for the fibreglass embedded steel, after replacing it with 316 steel, the best I can do for the next 20 years is to make sure the places where the steel enters the fibreglass remain well sealed.

My current thinking is that whatever solution each of us adopts needs to be carefully checked each year; and it's very important to check every place where stainless steel ceases to be exposed to air and either make sure that spot is well sealed (to prevent water penetration) or, if possible, remove or uncover a portion of the unexposed steel to examine it.

Kind regards, John
John - What is the hull # of Eku III?
 
M

Member 41673

Hi -

I am compiling a list of all Reliance 44 owners for Pierre. I believe you have hull # 27 named "Mad River". Please provide your location & e-mail address. You can e-mail me directly at voyagersail@gmail.com if you prefer

Rick Goltz
R44 hull #3
 
M

Member 41673

Please contact me

Hi Carroll -

My name is Rick Goltz & I am involved in a project with Pierre Meuiner to try & locate all the remaining Reliance 44's. Please contact me at: voyagersail@gmail.com

Thanks

Rick Goltz
R44 #3



Just found this Reliance 44 site and would like to exchange correspondence with other owners.
We have owned Isola Naida, (Hull #15) for about 15 years. We have been doing continual annual upgrades to Isola Naida, but are currently still land based in Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada.
There are two other Reliance 44 in this area that do not appear in the posted comments.
 
M

Member 41673

Hi -

My name is Rick Goltz & I am involved in a project with Pierre Meuiner to try & locate all the remaining Reliance 44's. Please contact me at: voyagersail@gmail.com

Thanks

Rick Goltz
R44 #3
 
M

Member 41673

Hi Dick -

My name is Rick Goltz & I am involved in a project with Pierre Meuiner to try & locate all the remaining Reliance 44's. Please contact me at: voyagersail@gmail.com

Thanks

Rick Goltz
R44 #3
 
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