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failed chainplates on e-25

raslocum

Member I
I made a surprising discovery on my e-25 while working on replacing the forward bulkhead just below the mast step. Once the bulkhead was removed, I discovered a stress crack on my starboard side chainplate that had progressed almost completely through the entire strap. I'd guess that less than 1/8" of solid metal remained before the entire strap sheared off. As often as I have sailed this boat, I can't imagine how it didn't fail. The scary thing is that the crack was concealed by the thickened area of the fiberglass ceiling around the bulkhead. If not for the bulkhead project, I would have never known it was there till my entire mast and rigging failed under sail.

I doubt I could find this as a replacement part. If anybody knows differently, I'd love some advice. I'm assuming I'll have to fabricate it. So...... Any advice on spec's for the replacement metal? The biggest reason I'm asking this was that I naturally assumed this was stainless steel. This strap has corrosion on it though. It's shiny like it's chrome plated, but you can see rust in the bolt holes, and in the crack running through it. I'll post a pic of it tomorow.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I am quite sure it is SS, but not so sure which alloy. I would choose 316 if starting over.
Note that corrosion can form on SS, when tightly enclosed and deprived of oxygen; also surface rust. When you get the replacement plate, try to get it mirror polished if possible.
One would speculate that this might be a sign from Father Neptune that all the other chainplates need a close inspection. :rolleyes:

Good Fortune (!) that you found this before the rig came down.

Cheers,

Loren
 
Chain Plates

I had planned on pullling mine for inspection and re-bedding. Will you replace both? Keep us informed about fabrication. Maybe if enough people decided to do a maintence replacement, a small production run might lower the price per pair.
 

raslocum

Member I
pic of strap.

Thanks for the advice. I'll report back as to cost. Here's the pic as promised. After this scare, I'll be inspecting every strap on this boat. The others visibly look good, but obviously they've been stressed. I have a friend that does testing on aircraft parts. I'll see if I can get an inexpensive xray of them.
 

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Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
Standard for this age of boat

This is normal for this age of boat. I recommend float testing your chainplates every ten years, throw them overboard, if they float they are fine and you can put them back in.

The issues is anaerobic crevice corrosion, compared to some that I have replaced on other boats those don't look too bad :).

They should be replaced with new electro polished 316L stainless steel. Most metal fabricators can do the machining but not the electro polishing. In a pinch a good shining to mirror finish using sand paper, then polishing compound can go a long way to making them last longer, but electro polishing is better as it removes the impurities from machining from the surface and makes them less subject to anaerobic crevice corrosion.

Go with new, don't try and find some that have already been used. The stainless steel is the cheap part of the project the labor to make them into chain plates is the expensive part. Should you not be able to find them in your area, send me a message back channel, send me your old ones, and we can make you a new set, electro polished.


Guy
:)
 
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