Ya know, it astonishes me how...

[Windtherapy]

...some people take are of their boats and how they do or should I say try to do repairs. Attached is my starboard chainplate. Not only bent which really doesn't bother my that much but how they tried to just load it up with silicone instead of just pulling it and using butyl tape under it. This is the same side where they put two pieces of wood on either side of bulkhead and left the chainplate inbetween the wood. That is solid at the bulkhead and I really don;t have time to pull the bulkhead this year so I think I will pull the silicone off, clean it all up, get longer screws and use fender washers inside to secure but put butyl tape under the chainplate at the deck and then use a butyl tape that we used on B52 bombers in the military over the deck fitting as well.

Thoughts?

Also, looking at new chainplates from D&R Marine looks like they don't come with the deck flat piece--maybe just a bad picture but shouldn't those be formed together?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Well, look at it glass half full!!!

Whenever I see silicone on TOP of something, at least I KNOW it has to be rebedded.

 

[justsomeguy]

You'll get over it.

 

[Ward H]

Some people just don't know better. Without this forum I wouldn't have known about the evils of silicone on fiberglass.

As for that chainplate, it is two pieces. You should be able to clean up the trim plate and reuse it. It is just decorative and helps to hide the ugly slot underneath.
Instead of through bolting the trim plates you might want to try filling the holes with epoxy and reusing screws.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Ward's right

like this

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7265.msg49430.html#msg49430

 

[Brian S]

I bet if you pulled the chainplate (probably when you re-do the bulkhead) you could straighten the existing with a hammer on an anvil.

I once did something stupid with my transom hung rudder. Let's not talk about it... Anyway, it had a piece of bent plate that acted as a spring to keep the rudder from falling out of the gudgeons in the event of a capsize. After I did the stupid thing, the spring looked like this:

Then I got it this far with some slip joint pliers:

Not bad, but I got the wavy gravy out of it with the ball peen on a shop vice with a flat anvil pad:

It came out pretty good, and worked just like new when I reinstalled it. Although I would still tie a piece of line between the boat and the rudder, when I tested how she capsizes deliberately on purpose, the spring held the rudder on and she didn't fall off. Which is good, because the rudder would have been an extremely expensive piece of irreplaceable kit to leave at the bottom of the lake.

Not saying a piece holding up your rig is the same as that skinny piece on my boat, but you could probably get it better without having to get a new one. Just saying'...

 

[Pianobob]

I wouldn't mess with a bent chainplate. This is an extremely critical cog in holding together your rig under stress. I'd pull it out and replace with a new one. Bent metal will eventually break under pressure, a disaster you never want to have to encounter.

 

[RichBone]

Don't mess with bent stainless.

 

[Windtherapy]

Decided not to and ordered 2 new chain plates from D&R marine