E-35-2 Chainplate/bulkhead fix

[Loren Beach]

I just spoke to a fellow repairing his boat the AJA, and Rich may be logging in here to look for more input. His E-35-2 recently had the port shroud base partly pull up thru the deck. Mast did not come down, but evidently it was a close call. :0
He was sailing offshore at the time.

Would some of you sistership owners mind searching for the relevant threads here and attaching their links to a reply?

And of course your information and any new narrative is appreciated.

Regards,
Loren

 

[alesnloggers]

Fun, fun, fun. Just finished replacing both of our bulkheads. The bulkheads themselves weren't to tough, just really messy and time consuming. Not sure how much advice I can offer but will help if I can.

The biggest problems we had were all the "while it's out/down/apart we might as well..." jobs. Seemed like one change would necessitate something else changed down the line. Now six months later we have new standing and running rigging, boom, furler, sails (main and genoa), masthead sheeves.

Rewired the boat while we were at it too. Rebuilt the starter and alternator. Replaced the fuel lines. Removed the propane water heater and the diesel cabin heater. In the process of replacing them with a webasto boiler.

Boat is mostly back together and we can finally get out sailing between chores. Of course its now horse show season and my daughter is keeping us busy trailering the hay burners around pretty much every weekend. If only I had got her sailing lessons instead...

Btw, everytime our local 'glass guru came down help out or to give us some advice he would always comment about how well built these boats are. He just finished restoring an Olson 34 for his personal boat.

 

[CaptDan]

Here's one thread:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...nd-Bulkhead-replace&highlight=bulkhead+repair

I will add this:

I've repaired the bulkhead on our boat twice. My opinion is, the portside chainplate is most vulnerable because, freshwater deck penetration notwithstanding, the port plate is located on the 'dewier' side of the boat's 'loo.'

My second repair incorporated several layers of biaxial cloth tabbed to the hull, West Systems thickened with 404 High Density Adhesive Filler, and an Iron Wood scarf. Iron Wood is not only rot proof, it's harder to cut and shape than steel. Still, it was less work and expense than replacing the entire bulkhead. The (now removable) mahogany cover board hides most of the repair.

I replaced the chainplates with new 516L stainless, with backing plates added to the forward side of the bulkhead. And the standing rigging was replaced at the same time. Sorry I don't have photo-documentation of the surgery; I guess I was too covered in Iron Wood dust to bother.

Capt Dan G> E35-2 "Kunu"

 

[tenders]

Interesting. What is better about ironwood than fiberglass/epoxy, ie Garolite or G10?

 

[CaptDan]

Interesting. What is better about ironwood than fiberglass/epoxy, ie Garolite or G10?

Good question. G10 is tough as nails - probably even harder to shape than Ironwood. But I wanted to hide as much of the repair as possible, so I thought a wood suface would be more suitable. Also, a boating friend happened to have several Ironwood pieces of the right thickness which he charitably donated to the project.

Capt Dan G>E35-2 "Kunu"

 

[AjaCaptain]

E-35-2Chainplate/bulkhead fix

Nice to meet Loren yesterday. I had already scarfed in my IPE (ironwood bulhead) and tabbed to hull with 3 layers of fiberglass cloth. I then applied a strip of 4" multi bias cloth aligned with chainplate on either side of bulkhead. After reading other readers comments it looks like I am not the first to use this method. How many have seen chain plates break? I was not planning on adding backing plate since I figured multibias cloth would provide support to forward side of bulkhead.
BTW the starboard side looks reasonably good but I decided to add an 18" extension to chain plate to grab more bulkhead.
We were 2 hours in to the Oregon Offshore race when the chain plate let go. We came very close to losing the rig.

I just spoke to a fellow repairing his boat the AJA, and Rich may be logging in here to look for more input. His E-35-2 recently had the port shroud base partly pull up thru the deck. Mast did not come down, but evidently it was a close call. :0
He was sailing offshore at the time.

Would some of you sistership owners mind searching for the relevant threads here and attaching their links to a reply?

And of course your information and any new narrative is appreciated.

Regards,
Loren

 

[CaptDan]

How many have seen chain plates break? I was not planning on adding backing plate since I figured multibias cloth would provide support to forward side of bulkhead.
BTW the starboard side looks reasonably good but I decided to add an 18" extension to chain plate to grab more bulkhead.

Aging chainplates can - and do - break. My portside plate began to show signs of crevice corrosion, the first sign the metal's about to give way. Here's a pic - you can see the horizontal fissures on the lower part of the unit:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/attachment.php?attachmentid=5047&stc=1&d=1240524707

Usually, the deterioration occurs where the deck hides the plate; that's why it's a good idea to remove the plates from the boat for a critical look.

Regarding backing plates: your multibias cloth repair is certainly a good idea which I, too, applied. However, since I'd gotten two new chainplates fabricated, it was only a few more dollars to get backing plates made as well. I think the more the load is spread and supported, the better the entire assembly will be.

Capt Dan G>E35II "Kunu"