Chain plate issues

[KanH]

This February marked my first full year ownership of a beautiful Ericson 30+, a true joy to own and sail. Over the summer I had been getting a trickle of water occasionally running down one of the stainless steel rods connected to the chain plate pad eyes. In attempting to remove the pad eyes from the deck in order to re-bed them I’ve run into a road block. From what I can see, the bottom of the stainless steel rods are screwed into anchors behind the seat backs and the top connected to square blocks of aluminum just under the deck. They are also notched for what I assume is to provide a flat surface for a wrench to unscrew them from their anchors. The pad eyes look to be connected through the aluminum blocks with 3/4’’ nuts. After removing the nuts and washers I could not get any upward movement of the pad eye bolts. I was able to unscrew one of the rods upwardly but that does not seem to make any difference.

Part of my problem may be that I’ve also discovered that the aluminum blocks have corrosion and pitting which may have seized the pad eyes to the aluminum blocks. Does anyone know what the proper steps are required to remove these pad eyes? I would hate to start hammering upwardly on the base of the bolts only to find out that I am missing a crucial step. Also, now that I have unscrewed one of the rods, is there a correct tension or torque on the rods once everything is done?

fficeffice" /><O></O>

 

[KanH]

Chain plate issues pictures!

Attached, please find some pictures to help clarify my issues. Thank you.

 

[Frank Langer]

You may be correct that corrosion is causing your problem. But I think it's also likely that there is caulking of some kind between the eyes and the deck to provide a seal. When I recently removed a port/window for rebedding, I was amazed at how tenacious the sealant was that was holding the window frame in place. It took me about two hours of heating the area, sliding a putty knife between the frame and gelcoat to gradually break the seal and release it. I was careful, using a heater/hair dryer rather than a blowtorch.

Maybe some heat and careful use of a putty knife might be helpful in your situation. I would be more inclined to try to pry the eye off, using some leverage if necessary in addition to heating it, rather than using a hammer, which could crack the gelcoat if you're unlucky.

If it's only a very minor leak, I have had success using Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure--it's a very thin liquid that seeps into tiny cracks and eventually hardens to seal them. It's available at most chandleries, and could save you having to do a full re-bed at this point, though in the long run doing the full job is likely a better solution.
Good luck!
Frank

ps. For tension, the manual says: "when the mast is not on the boat,the tie rods should only be snug ie. tightened to the point where load is just being put on the rod. When you step the mast be sure to tighten the tie rods one turn. This will prevent the deck from being flexed by shroud tension." I wish they could be more specific than "snug", but that's all there is.

 

[mherrcat]

I looked at the chain plate rod fittings under the inspection covers in my 30+ a week ago and they looked good. I'm kind of afraid to get under the headliner and look at the other end...

I bought some adhesive remover that is supposed to work on 5200 but haven't had an opportunity to use it yet. I was planning on using it to remove and re-bed the main and forward hatches at some point and possibly the portlights. I'll get the name tonight and post it.

 

[mherrcat]

The adhesive remover I purchased is called "Marine Formula" by DeBond Corp.

www.marineformula.com

I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but it even says on the can, "This Stuff Really Works"



I think I saw it advertised in Good Old Boat magazine or somewhere like that...

 

[footrope]

You probably have either dissimilar metal corrosion, old hard caulking, or both giving you problems. When I took my double chain plate u-bolt apart to reseal everything, it was difficult to get the u-bolts out. Don't be afraid to use some heat with a heat gun, and tap them from below with a punch to drive them up. They are stainless steel and even if you bend them a little, they can be bent right back without much trouble. It would be best not to damage the plates, especially around the holes. I found the plates to be fairly important to the sealing the top surface around the shoulders of the u-bolts.

You may have to find a source for the aluminum blocks if they're really badly corroded.

Good luck!

 

[KanH]

done

Thanks for all the help. I was able to remove them with a lot PB Blaster, swearing, a now bent crow bar a regular hammer, a pneumatic hammer (not shown) and my friend Ed.fficeffice" /><O></O>

 

[Loren Beach]

Sometimes I read these posts and learn of things I should do that I had not really thought about before. Once in a while I read and stare at the pictures and find out why I did that particular maintenance on my own boat.

I am referring to pulling the "chain plates" off our deck several years ago while the spar was off for a re-rig. It seemed like a good idea to take advantage of the situation and pull off those highly-stressed connectors and check the deck for water intrusion.
Our deck coring turned out to be bone dry, and every thing was rebedded and rebolted.

Reading about yours and others here has made me really glad that this job has been done on our boat.

Note: I and about everyone I know calls those through-deck assemblies "chain plates" but in fact the place where the rigging load actually meets the boat structure is at the bottom of that big 'ol Navtec SS rod that is threaded into an aluminum cylinder at 90 degrees, inside some honkin' big FRP sections that are glassed to the hull, behind our settees.

In the old sense of a long SS bar extending down thru the deck and bolted to a glassed-in bulkhead, our later Ericsons/Olsons really do not have a single chain plate, per se.

Thanks again for the information.

Best,
Loren

 

[Frank Langer]

So any advice on doing this job for those of us who haven't tackled it yet? Is there a way to do it without the PB blaster and the bent crowbars?
Thanks,
Frank

 

[Beanruben]

U Bolt Replacement

While removing the u bolts that secure my stantions to the deck of my 30+ I discovered a hairline crack in one of them. Does anyone know where to get replacements. I check most of the usual sources with little luck finding the same size. Any help greatly appreciated.