Hi all,
In preparing to rebed my chainplates, I thought I'd get opinions on whether to seal both the top and bottom of the chainplate, or just the top.
Yes, I realize there is lots of various advice everywhere in this regard. I'm generally of the camp to not add any bedding compound on the bottom of the chainplates (ie, in the cabin, to allow the opportunity to see any leaks, and curse them for the next several seasons until I get a chance to re-do the process), but ran across this post on the C34 website where they do just that:
[url]http://www.c34.org/projects/projects-chain-plate-rebedding.html[/url]
Having pulled all my chainplates out, cleaned all the holes through the deck, re-filled all screw/bolt holes with epoxy, I know that the previous owner has cleaned out and re-filled all exposed deck plywood with epoxy around the chainplate holes (ie, they're theoretically sealed from any water intrusion).
Given that our chainplates are less than ideal to prevent water intrusion (since they have pathetic top-side covers that don't seal all that well), would it still be anathema to bed the chainplate below as they do in the article above, as well as seal it on the topside? In a perfect world the topside coverplate seal would suffice (but rarely does). In an imperfect world, I'd be worried about some amount of water getting into any space between the top/bottom seals and corroding the chainplate.
I'll be bedding with butyl tape anywhere there's compression, and butyl caulk to fill in any major gaps between the chainplates and deck.
Thoughts?
Thanks!
Josh McElwee
Sailing from East Greenwich, RI
2000 C36 MKII, M35B, "Chinook", Hull#1900
Josh,
Try this: [url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7265.msg49430.html#msg49430[/url]
It's really quite simple, actually. You take one off and learn how it's built.
Just do it. It's simple and not rocket science.
One of your C36 skippers did a complete writeup on his "new and improved" chainplate design. Gotta be here on the website and forum somewhere. A search would find it. But even the "old ones" work if properly sealed.
Do NOT seal your chainplates from below.
Josh, I edited that C34 tech wiki to mention just that: the writeup was thorough, but wrong in that regard.
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
Yeah, I'm already 90% there, just wanted some thoughts on putting them back in. I've been planning on going the "all butyl, all topsides" route, and that C34 article through me off a bit.
I've seen the post on the 'new and improved chainplates', which is great and all, assuming you've got your own welding setup and a lot of know-how. They're not making/selling those chainplates at all (to my knowledge, after having emailed them), so I think that was a one-off thought experiment.
Josh McElwee
Sailing from East Greenwich, RI
2000 C36 MKII, M35B, "Chinook", Hull#1900
Hi Josh,
Currently doing the same project myself and will be using butyl tape to finish the project. Also plan on use butyl to redo the rest of the deck hardware. My thoughts on this are that it will hold up better and longer than sealant alone. I have heard of "gaps" causing some leaks using butyl but i suspect that it was done incorrectly in those cases. I would pay dearly for a set of the upgraded chines but I guess the old one will work just as well if done correctly.
Good luck to you!
Larry Robcke
MKl Tech Editor S/V L' Amante #319, 1984 C36
Sailing Long Island sound and the Hudson River
[QUOTE=jmcelwee;21467]Yeah, I'm already 90% there, just wanted some thoughts on putting them back in. I've been planning on going the "all butyl, all topsides" route, and that C34 article threw me off a bit.[/QUOTE]
Josh,
Thanks for pointing that out. I went back and updated the article noting that, but i also note that I'd commented on that issue back in 2013, right at the top of the article. Didn't want that to be wrong, even back then... :)
Thanks again,
Stu
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)