One of our fans following our Leisure 17 rebuild asked about our chainplates. I thought I would share the information here for the benefit of other L17 owners.
Ours didn't look too bad externally, but I am a surveyor... so know better. They should really be inspected every 10 years. Ours are 50 years old.... so well overdue. I am glad I did, I'll be rebuilding better and stronger.
*** The Old Chainplates ***
I had to remove the rubbing strake (it was broken anyway). There are three bolts through the hull/deck joint for the shroud chainplates. There are three bolts through the transom hull/deck joint for the backstay chainplates.
The shrouds were encapsulated on the inside of the hull by fibreglass which I had to grind away with a Dremel. The backstays were not encapsulated The chainplates slid out from the inside of the cabin/lazarette locker.
I found crevice corrosion, insufficient welds where deoxygenated water could/has accumulated. One of the shrouds clevis pin holes was worn and elongated.
*** The New Chain Plates: ***
I am replacing with 5/6mm thick 316 polished flat bar for my Atlantic Crossing.
I'll be installing them bolted through the topsides vertically and leaving them exposed internally to avoid trapping moisture, plus I can keep an eye on them!
I am making the exposed (external) tangs longer so that they can be bent in angle to match the shrouds and backstay so that there is not torsion on the turnbuckle and clevis pins (unlike the previous ones).
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