Chainplate removal

[Tim Alden44]

Hi and happy new year.

I'm in the process of removing my chainplates on a 1984 Alden 44. I have already disassembled most of the saloon cabinets and can access and remove the bolts. I now need to lift the chainplates out so they can be remade with a water jet (I've already decided just to replace them all given their age). They are very tightly bedded at the deck level with a solid material. I'm guessing either bedding compound or epoxy resin (see photo with gray material at tip of plate). They are very solidly in the groove. I even hit with a hammer and they didn't budge at all.

Has anyone encountered this? How did you remove them? My first impulse is to use an oscillating saw with a plunge blade and cut as close to the plate as possible. Open to other ideas.

 

[Steve_Catalina]

A pic of the underside would help.

 

[dlochner]

Try scraping up the caulk, to my eye it looks like the hole for chainplate was cut to a high tolerance with very little wiggle room. The caulk you are seeing is caulk that spread out from under the cover plate.

Since you are replacing the chainplates it shouldn't matter if they get scratched, use the oscillating tool with a carbide blade. The same tool with a scraper blade will remove the caulk on the deck.

 

[Tim Alden44]

A pic of the underside would help.

The underside is a fiberglass pocket where the plate sits.

 

[Tim Alden44]

Try scraping up the caulk, to my eye it looks like the hole for chainplate was cut to a high tolerance with very little wiggle room. The caulk you are seeing is caulk that spread out from under the cover plate.

Since you are replacing the chainplates it shouldn't matter if they get scratched, use the oscillating tool with a carbide blade. The same tool with a scraper blade will remove the caulk on the deck.

Thank you. I am going to try with the scraper blade first, then move to the plunge blade if it doesn't work. There is zero movement, even with a hammer. That's why I suspect Resin or bedding compound, but I just can't tell for sure.

 

[DArcy]

If you can't get a knife blade along the chainplate then I would try an oscillating tool with a fine blade right up against the chainplate and a very firm grip. Oscillating tools are wonderful for this kind of job, working right up against a flat surface to guide the blade.

 

[Tim Alden44]

If you can't get a knife blade along the chainplate then I would try an oscillating tool with a fine blade right up against the chainplate and a very firm grip. Oscillating tools are wonderful for this kind of job, working right up against a flat surface to guide the blade.

Thank you. I will try this. I am going to start with the scraper blade. Then move to a plunge blade if the first try doesn't work!

 

[jssailem]

While the oscillating tool's narrow blade makes sense, I would first explore a less damaging approach. Get a thin, narrow blade to slide down between the chainplate and the cut in the fiberglass deck. My suspicion is dirt and perhaps some corrosion has occurred in the chainplate's narrow pocket.

 

[Tim Alden44]

While the oscillating tool's narrow blade makes sense, I would first explore a less damaging approach. Get a thin, narrow blade to slide down between the chainplate and the cut in the fiberglass deck. My suspicion is dirt and perhaps some corrosion has occurred in the chainplate's narrow pocket.

Thanks, John - are you thinking something like a hack saw blade?

 

[kappykaplan]

are you thinking something like a hack saw blade?

That or a jigsaw blade.

 

[dLj]

Are you sure there is not a 3rd bolt hidden above the two in you second photo?

dj

 

[Tim Alden44]

Are you sure there is not a 3rd bolt hidden above the two in you second photo?

dj

Yes. I have the original drawings for the boat. There are two bolts below deck, and one above to receive the standing rigging.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I'd try tapping a scraper in with a hammer before the oscillating tool. Be sure to mark the old chainplate's height if you are removing that fiberglass it's bolted to so that you have a reference for later

 

[jssailem]

Tim
Looking at the Fiberglass buttress in your second image, the setup seems light weight.
By comparison, my chainplates bolt onto bulkheads with the bolts (8 of them) running through the bulkhead for each of the three chainplates on the sides of the hull. The bulkheads are affixed (fiberglass tabbed) to the hull and deck.

Here are what my chainplates look like.


I feel you are only showing a part of the system that holds the chainplates to the hull.

 

[dLj]

Yes. I have the original drawings for the boat. There are two bolts below deck, and one above to receive the standing rigging.

Have you tried prying the bottom section away from the support to essentially "wiggle" the chain plate? Maybe they put 5200 along the back of the chain plate and it's adhered to the fiberglass support.

dj

 

[Steve_Catalina]

In Facebook there is an Alden 44 group, not the largest, but may be worth a look if not already joined. Good luck.

 

[NYSail]

As was said, make sure the attachment inside the boat is completely undone. Then cut down from the top to remove any caulk. With chain plates, the mechanical connection is absolute. However they may have been glassed in as part of the tabbing so if you can cut far down it would be good. Inside the boat, are those through bolted to a bulkhead where you have access to the other side? Only caulking I would use would be around the deck cap…… but actually I would use mainsails butyl tape. That’s all I use in these cases.

 

[jssailem]

I would use mainsails butyl tape. That’s all I use in these cases.

Bed-it-Tape is excellent as long as it is used as a caulk. That means you need adequate fasteners to hold the item in place. Clean the area well, removing any silicone residue, before attempting to apply the butyl.

 

[NYSail]

Bed-it-Tape is excellent as long as it is used as a caulk. That means you need adequate fasteners to hold the item in place. Clean the area well, removing any silicone residue, before attempting to apply the butyl.

That's why the stuff is so good for chain plates, clutches, organizers, stanchions, etc where mechanical fasteners are used. Good stuff!