Hunter 28 chainplate

[cooperjack]

Hi Guys,
I’m wondering if anybody has come across a chainplate looking like this? The rod seems to come in on an angle , so the chainplate doesn’t screw on or off. Screws are out and it seems impossible to pull out. I’m at a loss, any help is appreciated!

 

[kloudie1]

Welcome to the forum!
The rod is screwed into a nut which is in an anchor in the grid beam. In order to get the chainplate out, you have to take a piece of fishing line and pull it all around under the plate to cut through the sealant . Then, using a BIG crescent wrench unscrew the plate from the nut below. Stop after you have about 1/4" of thread unscrewed and verify that the nut inside the beam is not loose (which would allow it to drop inside, never to be seen again until a big hole is cut in the beam)

 

[cooperjack]

Thanks so much! I was able to get it undone and thanks for the note on not letting the nut fall, that would’ve been disastrous. I did separate them completely, so that anchor/nut is attached to what looks like wood and just sits like that behind the Fiberglass? Im just trying to get an idea of what’s happening back there and this design is different to others.

 

[kloudie1]

Not very familiar with the 28, but the other Hunters of that era have a stout piece of angle iron inside the horizontal side beam on port and starboard. There is a big nut welded to the underside of the angle iron; that is what the rod screws into. Some folks report the nut weld cracked or corroded which might allow the nut to be lost when the rod is unscrewed. Some people have cut the rod and threaded both ends (not an easy job on that heavy rod) for a collar to be able to work the chainplate.
Picture below is from an H-34; you can see the rod threaded into the angle iron/nut, which is visible through the slot in the side beam. Hope this helps..

 

[cooperjack]

Thanks a lot for the help! The 28 is a bit different, from what I see that nut is attached to a plate that sits loose behind the fibreglass and is held in by the fibreglass ledge if that makes sense.