Chainplate eye bolts

[cedricbaele]

Hello everyone,

In the extensive refit of Lyra (v2941), I am contemplating replacing the
triangular-shaped eyes that fasten the shrouds to the chainplate. As mine are
showing some wear in the apex of the triangle(on the inside), I am not too
keen on sailing extensively with such a setup. Has anyone tried replacing
those? Is it possible to find the originals or could it work to replace them with
round eye bolts (Wichard makes some that would fit with a safe working load
of 6,600 lbs). The backstay is a little more complex, as I would need more
clearance than a small round eye bolt could give.
Any suggestions?
Has anyone cruising extensively reported any trouble with the original Vega
chainplate arrangement? Or the backstay bases?

Thanks a bunch for any help,

Cedric

 

[SVFlyAway]

Hi,

I just completed a deck-up refit on hull #2923 (new mast,rigging, sails) and
had Brion Toss Rigging in Port Townsend,WA do the work. Some of you may have
read some of Brion¹s several books or you have heard him speak (or viewed
his videos). Anyway I consider Brion one of the top riggers in the world and
he has worked on my various boats for many years. When we were laying out
the project I asked Brion that same question about the chainplates. We
pulled some of the fittings and forestay fitting for inspection. Brion said
to leave things as they were. It isn¹t his favorite system, but it seemed to
be working well. He said this system isn¹t unique to Vega and on some boats
he has seen problems with the deck/hull flange lifting or stressing, but on
Vegas he hasn¹t seen any problems. I suggested we strengthen the forestay
fitting and he said to leave it as it was he said the welding was
absolutely beautiful and he wouldn¹t want to ruin it and it was more than
stout enough.

For those of you in the states (and not purists) you might be interested to
note that we used American sized wire and not the 5mm original. We sized the
wire according to the length/load formulas and decided to rig the uppers,
fore and back stay with 7/32 inch and the lowers with3/16 (note the uppers
are a little beefier than original and lowers just slightly smaller). I¹ve
been out and the rig is superb. The new 135 Genny (Port Townsend Sails) is a
joy to sail and boat balances very well.

Anyway, one problem there might be with replacing the U-bolt chainplates
with round bolts is the angle that is bent into each one of the existing
fittings. This might critical for proper loading but I am no expert in
rigging myself.

 

[stevebirch2002]

Hi Cedric

I have made replacement chainplates from stainless 316 over the last two
years. They have a better washer arrangement. If you need some then dropme
an email at:

steve@...

Cheers

Steve Birch Vega "Southern Comfort" V1703