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Chainplates on E-27

sousou

New Member
Hello Everyone,

I think i already know the answer, but before endeavoring down this significant project I'm looking for a little confirmation.

I've attached the center-port chainplate before and the center-pot chainplate after a little polishing. The after shot shows the SS is in good shape with minor pitting.

There are slight rust stains on the deck around the chainplate.

Shoot it to me straight: Do I have a full chainplate replacement in my near future?

IMG_0728.jpgIMG_0736.jpg
 

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Hi Sousou- Those look very similar and possibly better than what mine looked like when I decided to cut them off and put external chainplates on. Turns out I probably didn't need to. My boat had been in freshwater most of its life. And there was so much core damage around the chainplates that I don't think water could have gotten trapped against them and caused trouble. But, you need to consider what the history of your boat has been. Where has it been all its life? Salt water or fresh? Warm or cold climate. Was the maintenance kept up on the boat, or was it neglected? Raced hard? Stored on the hard with the mast up? There have been some reports of chainplate failure on the e27, but not many given how many boats are out there. For an idea of what they looked like when I cut them out visit this site http://plasticclassicforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=4431

Good luck with your decision. Its unfortunate that its so hard to inspect these buggers.
 

ignacio

Member III
Blogs Author
It's what you can't see ...

Hi sousou,

As I understand it, the issue seems to be with the portion of the chain plates that you can't see/polish, which is especially subject to corrosion. I replaced the original 6 chain plates on my E35-II last year and fortunately only had one that I had to grind out (stern). One (bow) had a hairline crack, the rest had varying degrees of pitting, and the worst off was the one glassed into the stern, which had developed deep pitting at weld points. I purchased titanium bar stock and had it shaped, drilled, and cut to match my old chain plates once the mast was off the boat.

I was lucky that most of my chain plates are bolt-on, but I know how big a job that would be on an E27, which was my previous boat. I can assure you, however, that the peace of mind I now have was worth the effort. Having read too many stories of the sudden, unexpected failure of 40 year-old chain plates and dismastings was enough motivation to tackle that job!
 

sousou

New Member
Peace of mind is what I'm really after, but this project on the E27 would stretch my experience and I don't want to end up with a half finished project!

A little about this boat... It's located in the SF Bay area and has been it's entire life. The is bad on one hand (salt water) but good (sunny 320 days of the year) on the other. And when it does rain, I don't feel any moister or see any signs of leakage around the chain plates. The boat was lightly sailed for first 30 years of its life (2-3 times a year) and only moderately more the last 10 years. The PO, owner had a penchant for maintenance, so the boat is in otherwise stunning condition--stunning for a 40 year old vessel.

I'm going to head down over the holiday and see if I can poke around where they're glassed in and where they come through the deck.

Doug, I took at look at your restoration. What an incredible journey from start to finish. Excellent work!
 

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
I realized I had no before pictures on plasticclassicforum. Sounds like your boat has been well taken care of, but the fact that there is rust staining means water has gotten down there sometime in the past. My boat was NOT well taken care of. With all the other issues I found when I started digging into the boat, I assumed that the chainplates were bad too. Turned out I was wrong once I cut them off, but I would always have worried about it had I not replaced them. One thing you could do if you are very worried about is to cut out the bottom skin and dig out all the core from around the chainplates where they pass through the deck and inspect them from underneath. Then fill in with thickened epoxy and fiberglass over the underside. It would be a good idea to isolate the core in this area anyway to prevent future damage. I think that would be preferential to doing a complete removal like I did and all the repairs would be invisible once things were put back together. I also cut away the fiberglass that was covering where the upright was welded to the horizontal strap glassed into the hull so I could inspect the welds. They seemed fine.







 
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Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
In my opinion, it is possible to outsmart yourself in these matters, and have concern turn to worry and then obligation.

Few masts fall suddenly off boats. Any 40 year old boat should probably have all the standing rigging changed anyhow, etc., if you get the drift.

Unless you're heading offshore, a good argument can be made for doing nothing at all.
 

clp

Member III
In my opinion, it is possible to outsmart yourself in these matters, and have concern turn to worry and then obligation.

Few masts fall suddenly off boats. Any 40 year old boat should probably have all the standing rigging changed anyhow, etc., if you get the drift.

Unless you're heading offshore, a good argument can be made for doing nothing at all.


This site said I had to type ten words to post, but it didn't take any. It was just said.
 

PDX

Member III
I've heard that if you really want to know you're supposed to submit them to chemical analysis, that the eye test alone is not good enough. That being said, mine looked fine after a long and nasty job of getting them out. A friend who is also rebuilding a 30 saw nothing wrong with his after he ground them out. But he still had a replacement set fabricated. He had plans for extensive offshore use. I have plans to keep the boat as long as I can sail. Had I seen myself as a short termer with the boat I wouldn't have done it. I've never heard of failure on a 30 or 31. Supposedly some have failed on the 27/29, but those models had much higher production numbers.
 

geoatk

Member II
27's chain plates

After reading the posts, I think I am going to replace mine. I need to look at them but I don't think I want to take a chance. Seems like the fix isn't to expensive of one just some work. I want my bolted to the outside of the hull. I was thinking about 10in x 1 1/2in x 1/4in 316 stainless steel flat bar with three bolts each to the hull. From those who have done the repair, does that sound correct? I would be doing it my self.

Geoff
 
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