Re: chainplates on an H23

[Jay]

I read the earlier posts about taking care of the chainplates on an H23, but there is one thing which isn't clear to me. Can the chainplate cover with the 4 screws be taken off when the mast is up + the boat is in the water? It sounds like this cover does nothing but keep water from penetrating the gap around the chainplate, which suggests that you could lift it, clean, and caulk with silicone while in the slip. But I'd hate to find out the hard way that this is somehow integrally connected to the chainplate when there is tension on the whole rig...Thanks in advance,Jay

 

[Jim Maroldo]

chainplates

Yes Jay, you can remove the plates without disturbing anything else. It'll be harder to clean around the links and the deck, but it's probably better to caulk while everything is tensioned so nothing will move after the caulk dries. I did mine while the mast was down over the winter and had to touch-up after rigging this spring.Jim Maroldos/v: Lil' Wass Ett

 

[Wanderer138]

Yes it can be done

Remove the four screws and pry the cover plate up (I just learned that it's called a "beauty plate"). Pass a piece of masking tape under the plate and tape it up tight against the bottom of the turnbuckles. You should be able to remove the old caulk and clean the deck without too much hassle.Before applying the new caulk, mask the edges of the plate and the deck. Then apply the caulk and ease the plate back down. Put the screws in to align the plate but don't tighten all the way. Remove the masking tape once the caulk skins over and voila! No mess!Let the caulk set (36 hours min) then tighten the screws the rest of the way. This puts the seal in compression and greatly improves its watertightness. Good luck.PeterH23 "Raven"

 

[Guest]

Thanks. Sounds good...

I think I'll try it. But we just got our boat back in the water after a prolonged, self-administered bottom + keel job, so I do believe I'd like to sail for a month or so before going back to work. (I never thought I'd put so many sweat-drenched hours + weekends into something you do for fun...)Anyway, here's another interesting bedding/caulk related point: I rebedded one stantion which was loose + a bit bent, during the recent refit. I masked the deck and ended up using 5200, making a nice rectangular pad, which I put under compression only after it had cured for a week. At which point, it occurred to me that there was a hole in the bottom plate where the stantion tube was supposed to drain if + when water got in around the lifeline up at the top of the tube. And I had effectively caulked up the hole. This doesn't seem like a good idea. Maybe I should have just caulked a little ring around each of the 4 screws that hold the bottom plate to the deck. I don't think the other 3 stantions have caulk under 100% of the bottom plate.I tried to fix this problem by running a small drill bit horizontally through the caulk pad, and into the place where the tube hole comes out, to provide some drainage. Has anyone else noticed this problem?Thanks again,Jay