Chainplates

[Ron Hill]

John : Stu's got a good point - if the mast is in column and not leaning and the bottom flange of the chain plates are firmly up against the underside of the deck - why change anything ??? 

a thought

[John]

"Why do you think you need to replace either of the chainplates or the tie rods?"

I believe all the standing rigging is original and I am beginning the process to replace.
I have a request in to Garhauer for a price for new chainplates as suggested by others.
I'm hoping for a quote of under $1000?

Price is an issue as I am retired but didn't want to see new shrouds on the deck because of a chainplate failure.
Am I over-thinking it?

Thanks again for the info- very helpful

[waughoo]

The chainplates are likely fine.  If you wanted to have them inspected, you could remove them all and have them magnafluxed (can't remember for certain the name, but it is like a metal xray).  That would show any crevice corrosion cracks and identify those that need replacement.  When you go for new standing rigging, you may want to consider checking the stock rig measurements against what you have.  It sounds like you have some shrouds that are perhaps too short.  You would not want to duplicate that on your new rigging.

[Jim Hardesty]

Price is an issue as I am retired but didn't want to see new shrouds on the deck because of a chainplate failure.
Am I over-thinking it?

Maybe overthinking.  If the chainplates are corrosion free and no obvious damage I see no reason to change them.  Also to consider, they are stainless steel, well known for galling threads, disassembly may create a whole lot of problems.  That's my 2 cents.  As the wise men say, Your boat your choice.
Jim

[Ron Hill]

John : Look at my post above.  If the bottom flange on the chainplate is snug up against the bottom of the deck - Maybe the factory molded one side of your top deck 1/4" thicker than the other side!!!!!  and Nothing is wrong with your chainplates!!!   

A thought

[Jon W]

My standing rigging was original when I bought my 1987. I did a dye penetrant inspection on the chainplates. They were fine so I didn't replace them. Are you changing the chainplates because of age, or do you see something?

[Noah]

Jon: so no one gets the wrong idea, my understanding is you kept the chainplates but replaced the rest of your standing rigging—even upsizing your wire size. Correct?

[Jon W]

"I didn't replace them" refers to the chainplates only. I did not replace the chainplates after the dye penetrant showed no issues.

Yes; I replaced all wire rigging with 5/16", which means I upsized the lowers to 5/16" along with a bunch of other improvements.

John, are you looking for comments on your chainplate question only? Do you want suggestions on other areas to check a C34 with old rigging?

[John]

"John, are you looking for comments on your chainplate question only? Do you want suggestions on other areas to check a C34 with old rigging?
« Last Edit: September 27, 2023, 05:21:48 AM by Jon W »Report to moderator    Logged
Jon W."

I am planning to replace all the standing rigging so any information is appreciated.

Thanks - John

[Jon W]

As Jim and others have said, when you remove and look at the chainplates if they're corrosion free with no obvious damage I wouldn't change them. I would do a dye penetrant inspection of each chainplate. New t-bolts, turnbuckles, and wire measurements will address the small dimensional difference you've found.

Before you loosen the tie rods in the salon, mark the threads where the last nut was to make putting everything back together easier. I took photo's and wrote down the number of threads showing for each one. Re-bed the chainplates with Bed-It-Butyl tape from Mainesails website. Re-bed on the outside only, do not seal the inside so if you have a leak you know right away.

My 2 cents FWIW -
- The crane at the masthead is marginal size. I had a custom longer one made to move the spinnaker halyard farther away from the mast.
- The upper, lower tangs, and clevis should be removed and looked at closely. There's likely crevice corrosion under the washers after 20+ years.
- Check the masthead sheaves for wear. I replaced mine.
- I had a new toppping lift made even though I don't need one. Cheap insurance if my BoomKicker were to fail.
- The stemhead fitting is prone to cracking (on the MK1 anyway). I had a custom one made with continuous thickness of 3/8" as part of a proper
   custom double bow roller. I also added a link to raise the furler drum to avoid a clash when retrieving the anchor.
- If you're considering adding a bimini, or if you bump your head, raise the triangle connecting the split backstay. I raised it, and increased the
  material thickness. If you will add solar panels to the bimini, be careful how much you raise the triangle so you leave room for future panels.
- Check the pins holding the upper and lower wire/t-bolt's to the chainplate. My lower pins were undersized.
- Check the backstay chainplates as well.
- Check that the internal conduit is still securely fastened to the mast. Consider adding a scond run for future for electronics, lights, etc.
- If you want a whisker pole in the future, add a T-track and associate hardware to the mast.
- Add Lazy Jacks while you're up there climbing around.
- Consider changing the double fairlead under the traveler to a triple.
- Check the boom gooseneck to see if it's been upgraded to a pin instead of a cotter pin. May not be a MK2 issue.
- Check the internal outhaul is a 10:1 advantage. May not be a MK2 issue.

[Noah]

I had all the rigging redone 8 yrs ago. I did not upsize wire but replaced wire and inspected (dye checked) and ended up keeping chainplates and turnbuckles. Also had the conduit re-secured and had second PVC  conduit added to install wiring for radar, spreader lights, etc. At that same time I had mast stripped and professionally LP painted. UNFORTUNATELY, the guy who did the rigging work must have used stainless steel rivets or poorly insulated the contact between rivets holding the conduits and the aluminum mast, as years later I have bubbling of the paint around each rivet. Not too visible to anyone but me, (hopefully) but annoying! Take this as a cautionary tale. In the next couple of years I will probably pull the stick and start over again. Or, at least, fully inspect and try to spot touch-up the LP paint. Also, I will add a longer spinnaker crane (as Jon did) because I fly a asymmetrical spinnaker on a top down furler and it is has given me troubles at times.

[John]

Thanks to all for the great info!