Chain plate u bolt

[david poth]

I have a broken u bolt on a lower chainplate. I have ordered 8 to replace all of them on our 1985 e 35-3. What is the best beding compound? Is butal tape a good option?

 

[Prairie Schooner]

I have a broken u bolt on a lower chainplate. I have ordered 8 to replace all of them on our 1985 e 35-3. What is the best beding compound? Is butal tape a good option?

Man, that's sobering. Those don't look much different than the bolts on our '86 E35-3. What led you to discover the damage?

 

[david poth]

Man, that's sobering. Those don't look much different than the bolts on our '86 E35-3. What led you to discover the damage?

Yes. Very surprised. I had the rig tuned and the lowers were very loose. When the rigger was tightening that one , when he was only at 8% there was a very loud ping. The corrosion was almost completely through that side of the bolt. Definitely changing all 8 to be on the safe side. Luckily it did not break while I was sailing.

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Yes. Very surprised. I had the rig tuned and the lowers were very loose. When the rigger was tightening that one , when he was only at 8% there was a very loud ping. The corrosion was almost completely through that side of the bolt. Definitely changing all 8 to be on the safe side. Luckily it did not break while I was sailing.

Yikes. Although, that's probably the best way to discover it. I recall it's been addressed here elsewhere, but where did you order the replacements? While the mast is out I wonder what the best way to inspect ours would be.

 

[peaman]

Is butal tape a good option?

Butyl tape is the only thing I would consider for that, and any other deck-mounted parts.

Your break is disturbing: there is no way to inspect for that, other than removing the fitting.

 

[Nick J]

Wow, that is a very surprising find. I've reached out to Garhauer for replacement, but never followed up with the final dimensions thinking I had some time. Your find has me re thinking my priorities. Did you go through Garhauer as well?

 

[Alan Gomes]

I have a broken u bolt on a lower chainplate. I have ordered 8 to replace all of them on our 1985 e 35-3. What is the best beding compound? Is butal tape a good option?

I'm rebedding 3 of mine right now. I think butyl tape is good for this application. I'm overdrilling, filling, and redrilling the holes first. Chamfer the holes and apply the butyl to the u-bolt legs in the shape of a cone that will fit into the chamfered hole.

BTW: I got my replacement u-bolts 9 years ago from Garhauer.

 

[david poth]

Yes I did buy them through Garnhauer. They were great to work with, took about three weeks to be delivered to me. The bolts look great and are consistent size. Hopefully they all fit easily. Glad to hear butyl is a good choice. I re bedded the fixed port lights and really like working with it.

 

[david poth]

Also. Yes there is no way to inspect the bolt where it broke is right at the deck level. I’m interested in seeing the condition of all the others. There was actually a small amount of rust discoloration around the deck plate. Some of the other also have some stains with some being clean.

 

[bgary]

There are a couple of good threads here that cover replacing the u-bolts

Chainplate Inspection [Master Thread]

Hi Mark, I was just down in Annapolis to tow back Etchells hull 1174 which I purchased with a few partners. The boat was next to Annapolis Yacht Club. I love your 36! There is another here in Falmouth and he always beats me. Not very many of them around. I spoke with Doug at...

ericsonyachts.org

E38 Chainplate U-Bolts and Replacements

Salvaged U bolts Hopefully that technique will work on yours. I tried the same on my 81' 28+ project and had no success. In the end the project was scrapped. After cutting the U bolts and aluminum blocks out of the deck I tried pressing them out. That eventually worked but not at all...

ericsonyachts.org

...and another thread worth reading about replacing the toggles.

Replaced your SS Standing Rigging? What did you do?

Just got the first half of my stainless rigging back from West Marine. The new stuff is very high quality. Problem is, the original Ericson rigging was a mismatch of sizes. The deck u-bolts (chain-plate attachments) vary between .460-.480" in diameter (averaging out to just about 12mm). The...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Also. Yes there is no way to inspect the bolt where it broke is right at the deck level. I’m interested in seeing the condition of all the others. There was actually a small amount of rust discoloration around the deck plate. Some of the other also have some stains with some being clean.

David, if you have the time, I'd be interested hearing of the condition of the other bolts you remove. Thanks, Jeff

 

[david poth]

Jeff
Yes I will definitely share everything I find with the other u bolts. It is probably going to be 3 weeks before I get back to the boat and finish. I will take lots of pictures of everything.

 

[bumbugo]

We just replaced one U-bolt on our 32-3. It sheared off at the deck similar to what others have described. We ordered the replacement bolt from Garhauer. They have great customer service and the bolt fit perfectly. We used Butyl Tape as a bedding compound. The most difficult part of the whole process was getting the headliner zipper to work. We will shortly be replacing the other 7 bolts. If one goes they are probably all ready to go.

 

[Neil Gallagher]

i have proactively replaced all 8 of my U-Bolts on my 381 with Garhauer. They are great to work with and much less expensive than the Navtech versions. Mine fit fine and I used 4200 as the bedding compound. I have'nt bothered to clean up and inspect the originals but they looked good upon removal.