H34 chainplate revisited.

[HelloOutThere]

Thought I'd post pics of my attempt at chain plate removal. First describing the rod removal....

Luckily, I was able to unscrew the starboard rod out after applying penetrating lubricate several times over a few months. The port chainplate rod was completely detached and flopping around in the fiberglass stringer with the 2" coupling nut still attached. I used an angle grinder to cut the weld points from each side of the nut so I could lift the chain plate rod out of the fiberglass stringer's elongated hole, without damaging the fiberglass. I then used the angle grinder to make a few full-length slits in the coupling nut to the point I could just see the threads appearing. I sprayed the new slits with penetrating fluid. With one person on each end of the rod we were able to remove the nut and then pull the rod out of the boat. Note that the chainplate rod's threaded ends have the threads knocked down so cutting into the nut didn't damage them!

For the chainplate removal I figured I'd need to make a 24 x 4.125 access hole to pull the chainplate out. I placed the holes in the stringer chamber aft of the where the chainplate is located (See china marker outline in photo 1). I made a 24 x 4.125 template with 1/2 inch radius corners. I'd use 1" radius if I had to do this again. I protected the fiberglass with a layer of heavy duty tape, and a layer of masking tape for the template marks (See photo 2). The template was placed 1.75 inches below the fiberglass stringer, and 4 inches aft of the fiberglass rib. I used an angle grinder with a 1/8 inch thick steel cutting blade for the tops and sides and a dremel 561 cutting bit for the corners (Photo 3 and 4). After that it was just a matter of loosening and removing the two carriage bolts that hold the chainplate in place. I did this by loosening the bolt closest to the new hole, and then retightening it somewhat. Loosen the bolt farthest away dropping it into the abyss. Finally remove the bolt closest to the hole and pull the chainplate out. (Photo5). Easy peasy...
One odd item was that the lighting protection wire(s) didn't appear to have ever been connected to the chainplate! I couldn't find a connection point on either chainplate. They were just flopping around in the stringer.

After removing the chainplates, I used a 2" sanding wheel on a drill and a small sanding wheel on a dremel to sand the edges of the access hole rounding the corners. I don't plan on patching the holes and may install a short 24 inch long 4" U channel in that location. I'll be using the 4" U channel to replace the chainplate. I'm still working on that!

 

[jmce1587]

Did a similar cut out and fix on my H31. In the downloads section (link below) and there are other posts on forum regarding this fix.

Hunter 31_83-87 Owner Modifications and Upgrades

I believe Artey did a similar repair on his H34. Search forum for his previous posts.
glad you caught this ahead of time and not lose a rig.

 

[markwbird]

I'm impressed and a little frightened. What prompted you to do this in the first place? How did you know the chain plate was in such bad shape?

 

[jmce1587]

Here is a link to Artey’s post as well as others input on our vintage Hunter chain plate repairs. Please capture pics and repairs in Hunter downloads section. Thanks

Hunter 34 Chainplate Anchor help

this is all done from the top the hole has to be drilled out to fit the rivet. just basically duplicating the tool they will sell you for 2K I have done this in the field when I did not have access to the correct tool.

forums.sailboatowners.com

 

[DayDreamer41]

@HelloOutThere I have to ask what made you look at the chain plate anchors in the first place, you could not get your rig tuned? I would be interested to know what pointed you that way.

 

[swshogren]

I have to second the question "What made you look at the chain plate anchors to begin with?" And can someone explain designing/building in such an Achilles heel as using a iron/steel back plate for the chainplate? I know its a cost savings thing - but there? and hard to repair.

 

[markwbird]

I have to second the question "What made you look at the chain plate anchors to begin with?" And can someone explain designing/building in such an Achilles heel as using a iron/steel back plate for the chainplate? I know its a cost savings thing - but there? and hard to repair.

You know how it is once the suits get involved.

 

[swshogren]

- Good point!

 

[HelloOutThere]

I'm impressed and a little frightened. What prompted you to do this in the first place? How did you know the chain plate was in such bad shape?

I woke up on night on the boat and heard an unusual creak along the port side. Didn't think much of it at the time. Later during the day I grabbed the chainplate rod by chance and noticed I could move it around! I was always able to remove scale from the attachment point to the plate where it goes thru the fiberglass. These chain plate should have been stainless or at least galvanized . I've been agonizing over this repair since July. It is scary. The actual cutting and removal was literally a 1/2 hour each side once I removed the cabinetry. The planning took me months of dwelling. Initially I read some folks recommending removal thru the outer hull. The beam is at the water line. When I thought about the size and cost of the patch I ditched the idea. I may go back and see if I could have used a smaller hole. But I only wanted to cut this thing once!

 

[HelloOutThere]

Here is a link to Artey’s post as well as others input on our vintage Hunter chain plate repairs. Please capture pics and repairs in Hunter downloads section. Thanks

Hunter 34 Chainplate Anchor help

this is all done from the top the hole has to be drilled out to fit the rivet. just basically duplicating the tool they will sell you for 2K I have done this in the field when I did not have access to the correct tool.

forums.sailboatowners.com

That's the post I started with! He had stranger issues from a previous repair attempt. The repair further down the post using flat bar didn't quite thrill me. In my case I didn't need to cut the round hole below the attachment point to remove the rod. One rod side easily unscrewed, and the other rod pulled thru the fiberglass slot once I cut the coupling nut welding bead off using an angle grinder.

 

[jmce1587]

I went back with a SS angle plate as well as SS rod on my H31 when doing this repair. Glad to hear you were able to catch this failure without losing a rig.

 

[HelloOutThere]

Managed to build new chainplates using scrap galvanized 4x4x5/16 angle iron and stainless coupling nuts from McMaster Carr. Installing wasn't that bad. Toughest part was fishing the forward lag bolt thru. Given that the original lasted 38 years I'll never do this again! Check you chain plates! I haven't done any rigorous sailing in a few years and consider myself lucky to not have dealt with a de-masting!

 

[Artey1]

Well done. I feel like this may become a right of passage for any future H31/H34 owners brave enough to dig into the depths of their boat. Much like the compression post. Which reminds me, I'm going to open those inspection ports and have a looksee.

 

[HelloOutThere]

One more pic.... Here is my final pic showing the cover for my new chainplate access port! The filler panel is made from an old fiberglass shower tub from a house demo job which had an amazingly good color match and is 3/16 to 1/4 thick. Which is as thick as the original material. It's held together using Brass Flanged Screw-to-Expand Inserts and Stainless Steel Extra-Wide Truss Head Phillips Screws. Only half of the starboard side is exposed to view and is under the table! Mast is getting stepped tomorrow and launch next week. I'm back.....

This Fall I get to replace the engine's mounting girder(?). Thirty nine years and one side is getting a bit thin at one end. I've been oiling it for years. Again why did they choose unfinished iron! A nice piece of galvanized and I wouldn't be having this discussion.

 

[pete c]

I am the new owner of a 1988 Legend 35. Looks like this repair is in my future. On the advice from someone on the fb Hunter page, I think I am gonna drill a small access hole and look at it with an endoscope.

I can see corrosion when looking through the rod hole.

Does the Legend 35 have angle iron or is it bar stock?

The manual shows it as bar stock.

 

[jmce1587]

I would suspect it’s carbon steel with a ss rod screwed/threaded in. That was in my 84 H31 and have seen 87 models of the H31 with carbon steel. On this site you can reach out to pros that worked for Hunter. Not sure if they’re around at this time frame but can likely provide more insight. Good luck with this repair.