[Rhodes22-list] Chainplate failure

[stan]

With G. Stewart and Thomas both members of ROC, I have to step into this 
one.  Graham's word is gospel - if both parties are talking about the 
same issue.  However that is not the case in this case.  Thomas's issue 
is with his upper shroud chain plates; they are bolted through both the 
hull and deck laminations where they overlap.  In our historical 
knowledge they have never failed, nor has Thomas's. His upper shroud 
chain plate has been subjected to a horrific force that has caused it to 
pivot slightly aft resulting in gel coat damage while his boat remains 
safely sailable as is.

Graham is talking about the 4 lower shroud chain plates.  (The jobs of 
the lower shrouds are to prevent mast pumping and to make the GB cross 
over mast hoist system work.)  If Graham's 45 year old Rhodes also has 
its upper shroud chain plates connected to the cabin trunk roof, I am 
too young to remember that ever being done.  It must have been some 
in-between owner along the way trying to improve on Phil Rhodes design.

stan



On 3/29/20 3:17 PM, Graham Stewart wrote:
> Thomas:
>
> The chainplates on my 76 were simply stainless tangs that were bent into an "L" shape with the horizontal piece inserted between the cabin liner and the core and held in place with a single short screw. Of course the screws loosened over time and the tang in turn rattled about loosely. While it seemed to be strong enough I didn't like it moving about so I removed them all and replaced them with special stainless eyebolts as shown in the attached photos.
>
> I used a grinder to remove the old chain plates. As it turned out I could have removed them more easily by removing some of the liner but at the time I didn't realize that the hardware was under the core rather than embedded into it.
>
> Note that I hollowed out the area around the hole where the eyebolt went through the cabin top and filled the hollow including any void between the liner and the core with thickened epoxy. One the epoxy had set, but BEFORE it cured, I re-drilled the hole. I used butyl tape as the sealant and added large washers on the inside to widen the load. This strengthened the deck in the area and sealed the core from any water penetration. It all seems very solid now.
>
> Graham
>
>
> Graham Stewart
> Agile 1976 Rhodes 22
> Kingston Ontario
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of THOMAS POLISE via Rhodes22-list
> Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2020 1:31 PM
> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Chainplate failure
>
> Just curious if anyone has dealt with this before.  My port chainplate upper portion loosened and cracked top deck.  The chainplate is secure but I was surprised that it was 2 pieces which allowed it to move forward and back and not bolted in 4 places.  My thoughts are to replace with a solid “T” chainplate and then repair deck.
>
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