Does anyone have experience with leaking chain plate entry points on the 10.3? I have some minor rot in the plywood bulkheads and looking for some guidance in what it takes to repair/ replace the affected area. Could be a major repair and something to be left for the professional trade to address properly...
S2 10.3 plywood bulkhead repairs
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My 2c
There was an interesting article in this months "Good Old Boat" related to a chain plate repair. The owner had to deal with elongate bolt holes and did so by using a hole saw to make larger holes and then he fit the bolts with stainless washers sandwiched together with epoxy. Personally, I would have had some solid stainless pieces made, but it is an interesting approach as the load is actually reduced by spreading it over a larger area. How bad is the rot? There are some pretty good epoxy products for dealing with rot. I bought some penetrating epoxy from the site below to use on some rotted beam ends in my post and beam home, but haven't tried the stuff out. If you can believe the site. As I recall, I contacted them and they were very helpful. The stuff isn't cheap, but if it prevents you from needing to replace the bulkheads it may be worth every penny. Personally, if the tops of the bulkheads where the chain plates bolt on are really gone I think that I would sister either wood or stainless to them to ensure I could through bolt to an adjacent area with solid wood. As long as there is sufficient room you could even just have longer chain plates made up to get to good wood. Of course, if you are going off shore and are planning such a repair, I'd suggest you consult with a marine engineer regarding the approach you take. Bob
There was an interesting article in this months "Good Old Boat" related to a chain plate repair. The owner had to deal with elongate bolt holes and did so by using a hole saw to make larger holes and then he fit the bolts with stainless washers sandwiched together with epoxy. Personally, I would have had some solid stainless pieces made, but it is an interesting approach as the load is actually reduced by spreading it over a larger area. How bad is the rot? There are some pretty good epoxy products for dealing with rot. I bought some penetrating epoxy from the site below to use on some rotted beam ends in my post and beam home, but haven't tried the stuff out. If you can believe the site. As I recall, I contacted them and they were very helpful. The stuff isn't cheap, but if it prevents you from needing to replace the bulkheads it may be worth every penny. Personally, if the tops of the bulkheads where the chain plates bolt on are really gone I think that I would sister either wood or stainless to them to ensure I could through bolt to an adjacent area with solid wood. As long as there is sufficient room you could even just have longer chain plates made up to get to good wood. Of course, if you are going off shore and are planning such a repair, I'd suggest you consult with a marine engineer regarding the approach you take. Bob
unfortunately...
I now know a bit more about rot in bulkheads. I really wish I didn't. My surveyor found a ton of rot in the port bulk head of the 9.2A I was hoping to pass papers on this week. There was also some rot in the starboard bulkhead, but to a lesser degree. I don't know if this is relevant to your boat, but in the 9.2a the bulkheads the center chain plates tie into are a sandwich of three 3/4 inch sheets of plywood, the center sheet is the partition wall, which is tabbed into the hull. There are also two smaller sheets on either side of the center sheet to make the area the chain plate bolts to much thicker. On the starboard side, when we sounded the piece the chain plate is lying on we heard a hollow thunk near the top. Upon further examination we could see where the plywood was swelling near the top, especially upon removing the end facing trim. Digging around with a knife into the main bulkhead behind that piece seemed to indicate it was perhaps still fairly sound. If so, the goal would be to grind away the tab holding it to the hull and to remove and replace just that piece. This would be a case of minimal rot, as the water came down through the deck right on top of this particular piece. However, on this particular boat, the port side was a COMPLETE disaster. Upon examination we found that the outside smaller piece, as well as the main bulkhead, were entirely rotted away in that corner where the chain plate passes through. This is a major repair that the surveyor, a boat builder himself, estimated at $2-3000. He also stated that she could not be sailed anymore. He did not state that for the other side, he just recommended it be taken care of in the off season. Folks...it just isn't much work to re-bed a chain plate. These are beautiful boats and all three 9.2A's I have looked at had some degree of leaking. The owner is now investigating what he can do to get it fixed, but I have sold my other boat and unless a miracle occurs I will likely have to find another boat...and I am running out of 9.2A's to look at in New England. Bob
I now know a bit more about rot in bulkheads. I really wish I didn't. My surveyor found a ton of rot in the port bulk head of the 9.2A I was hoping to pass papers on this week. There was also some rot in the starboard bulkhead, but to a lesser degree. I don't know if this is relevant to your boat, but in the 9.2a the bulkheads the center chain plates tie into are a sandwich of three 3/4 inch sheets of plywood, the center sheet is the partition wall, which is tabbed into the hull. There are also two smaller sheets on either side of the center sheet to make the area the chain plate bolts to much thicker. On the starboard side, when we sounded the piece the chain plate is lying on we heard a hollow thunk near the top. Upon further examination we could see where the plywood was swelling near the top, especially upon removing the end facing trim. Digging around with a knife into the main bulkhead behind that piece seemed to indicate it was perhaps still fairly sound. If so, the goal would be to grind away the tab holding it to the hull and to remove and replace just that piece. This would be a case of minimal rot, as the water came down through the deck right on top of this particular piece. However, on this particular boat, the port side was a COMPLETE disaster. Upon examination we found that the outside smaller piece, as well as the main bulkhead, were entirely rotted away in that corner where the chain plate passes through. This is a major repair that the surveyor, a boat builder himself, estimated at $2-3000. He also stated that she could not be sailed anymore. He did not state that for the other side, he just recommended it be taken care of in the off season. Folks...it just isn't much work to re-bed a chain plate. These are beautiful boats and all three 9.2A's I have looked at had some degree of leaking. The owner is now investigating what he can do to get it fixed, but I have sold my other boat and unless a miracle occurs I will likely have to find another boat...and I am running out of 9.2A's to look at in New England. Bob
Update
As it turned out, the design of the bulkheads lends itself to facilitating a good mechanical and cosmetic repair. There are smaller pieces of plywood sistered to the main bulkhead on either side. I asked my surveyor, who used to work for Cape Dory, to write up detailed instructions for the owner, once he decided to make the repair himself. The aft smaller pieces, the surfaces on which the chain plates are mounted, were severely damaged at the top and had to be replaced. The forward ones were fine. The bulkhead to starboard under the aft smaller pieces was fine, he coated it with epoxy and tabbed in a new smaller piece. The main bulkhead to port was rotted and he had to sister in a piece by cutting out the rotted piece and putting in a new piece. He stabilized the back of the front small piece with epoxy then buttered the new piece with. He then fit it in place and then tabbed it to the bulkhead and the hull with heavy biaxial roving. He then fit a new outer small piece, epoxying it in place and tabbing it to the hull. Cosmetically, besides a few additional screws he added to ensure good adhesion, it will be indistiguishable from new as soon as I match the stain properly. Oh, one more thing. He coated the edges of the new pieces with epoxy to help prevent them from being damaged in the future. He created a photo diary, per my request, and I went ahead with the purchase. BobM
As it turned out, the design of the bulkheads lends itself to facilitating a good mechanical and cosmetic repair. There are smaller pieces of plywood sistered to the main bulkhead on either side. I asked my surveyor, who used to work for Cape Dory, to write up detailed instructions for the owner, once he decided to make the repair himself. The aft smaller pieces, the surfaces on which the chain plates are mounted, were severely damaged at the top and had to be replaced. The forward ones were fine. The bulkhead to starboard under the aft smaller pieces was fine, he coated it with epoxy and tabbed in a new smaller piece. The main bulkhead to port was rotted and he had to sister in a piece by cutting out the rotted piece and putting in a new piece. He stabilized the back of the front small piece with epoxy then buttered the new piece with. He then fit it in place and then tabbed it to the bulkhead and the hull with heavy biaxial roving. He then fit a new outer small piece, epoxying it in place and tabbing it to the hull. Cosmetically, besides a few additional screws he added to ensure good adhesion, it will be indistiguishable from new as soon as I match the stain properly. Oh, one more thing. He coated the edges of the new pieces with epoxy to help prevent them from being damaged in the future. He created a photo diary, per my request, and I went ahead with the purchase. BobM
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