Good way to start the week with those beautiful photos. Include your phone when you PM this evening.
Thanks for the input. At the dock with no sails set, the boat is solid. No soft spots and the rigging is true and straight. Also judging by the damage and any visible staining, the issue seems to be confined to the port side plate.Have you noticed issues with the rigging not staying tight? That is a sign of a compression post issue?
So, here's a little update. I finally got a chance to take an in depth look at the chain plate and bulkhead. As suspected previous water damage had done localized damage around the plate and bulkhead. Luckily it looks to be very localized and the remaining bulkhead is as solid as the day it was installed.
I decided to go ahead and place a bandage on the situation. I removed the damaged wood and replaced with oak and epoxy the anchored it with solid wood bracing bolted to the bulkhead which I will eventually have to replace unless anyone has a better idea.
I reseated the chain plate and sealed it on the deck which shows no sign of damage after the plate moved.
It ain't pretty but it's functional for now.
Any thoughts / suggestions going forward ?????
My first boat, a Hunter 280, could take a heavy blow...It's a DIY if you know what your doing, not the sort of repair that's a learn as you go. Hunter is not the sort of boat that's built to take that kind of heel over an extended time. Hunters are good boats but have their limitations, if that's the kind of sailing you like, get a boat capable of blue water sailing. Not having seen the job I couldn't estimate the repair cost, but it'll be substantial.
i looked at a 25.5 last year with the same issues, to the point that 1x4 was sitting in hole in the rotten plywood and shrouds were slack. These were slide in bulkheads. look for screws, jack up cabin roof, remove compression post and slide out the bulkeads to use as a pattern for the new ones. obviously the chainplates amd shrouds need removed so either drop the mast or sister the shrouds with halyards and do one side at a time.It's winter now. In the late fall I bought a Hunter 25.5 with similar chainplate and bulkhead/vanity rot issues. Are there pictures from the repair regarding the above thread? That would be super helpful. There are multiple spider cracks around my starboard chainplate that I plan to fix as soon as the weather warms up, but I'm wondering about the order of repairs. Fiberglass first, then bulkhead?