V-42 Chainplates

 

   I recently purchased a 1988 Tayana V-42, aft cockpit. During the pre-purchase survey the surveyor stated in writing that port and stbd chain plates must be replaced, because "they were over 10 years old". The insurance company now requires it also.


   Finally got around to doing the job, pretty straight forward, but the hard part is removing the finish work so the deck chain plates can slide down far enough to get them out. The inspection ports are not big enough, I have enlarged them to allow access to all nuts and bolts on the chain plates and backing plates, a situation easily fixed by a larger inspection plate, however to slide the chain plate down the finish work must be removed or cut away. Any suggestions or helpful hints would be appreciated. I have done one by cutting the finish work, it is not a comfortable feeling. Was thinking about hiring a trim carpenter to remove the fine wood working, let me do the chain plates, then have him restore the trim work.


   Thanks....and it's good to be aboard.  

 

Aloha/Mark Franey                                                                                          June 2006

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   I looked at removing the side chainplates over the winter when we did the re-rig, and decided it was going to be too big of a chore to get them out because of the size of the plates vs the size of the inspection hole.

   Since there was no evidence of water intrusion below, I dug out the sealant around the plates from the top and found no corrosion or cracking. I might be whistling past the graveyard, but I feel pretty confident in the integrity of the chainplates.


Frank Timmons            V42 Magic Dragon       Deltaville, VA                           June 2006

Hi Mark,

 
   Yep, as Wayne told you we replaced the 25-year old chainplates on Rivendell this past winter. Unless you see evidence of pitting or corrosion (or leaking over time) why replace them? It is good to have a look though. But, despite our worrying, it really wasn’t that hard. Our chainplates at least are hefty (the old ones being almost ½” thick, the new ones are ½ in.)  After scraping away the old sealant we could see cracks and pitting where they enter the deck so they had to go. Here’s a scan of one of the worst ones:

 
ftp://tognews.com/Chain_Plates/Chain_Plates_V42_Rivendell/PA.jpg
 
   After prying apart the boxes that cover the plates, Michael carefully cut away at the bookshelves using our beloved Fein tool with a cutting blade. Basically, he cut just enough to be able to get all the bolts out* and be able to drop the monstrous plate down far enough to get it out. He cut along the teak strips so that now that the pieces are Gorilla Glued back in place you can’t tell they were ever removed. Hard to describe, so check out the pics at: ftp://tognews.com/Chain_Plates/Chain_Plates_V42_Rivendell/

 
   *Actually it’s not a bad idea to replace all your chainplate bolts, if not the chainplates. A number of them broke right in half due to internal corrosion when we were unbolting them. See what I mean here:

ftp://tognews.com/Chain_Plates/Chain_Plates_V42_Rivendell/brokenbolt.JPG
 
   If you want any other details write back. I may have Michael write back as he did most of the work on these. Hey, at least I held the wrench when he bolted the new ones in. Smile

 
Sara Johnson    s/v Rivendell      1981   V42                                                   June 2006

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   Wow, Sara and Michael! Nice job. Thanks for documenting it so well too. Its the first time I have actually seen a V-42 chainplate off the boat. I must admit it is somewhat of an eye-opener. Was it only the chainplates showing long term signs of leakage that evidenced serious corrosion? And bolts? Some appear OK. All of mine are bone dry so I am hoping that a visual inspection like I did (and posted on the FTP site) done from down below is enough to determine condition. What do you two think?

   And has anybody else with a V-42 replaced the chainplates?

   Well, Mark, welcome aboard! I know that Michael's woodworking answered some of your questions. It's hard to believe that your surveyor would just make a blanket statement that chainplates must be replaced after 10 years. And you said the other surveyor in your area requires replacement at seven years! At least Tayana gave us inspection covers on our joinery. I would imagine that few boats at any price have such good access for inspection. My initial opinion is that if it hasn't leaked - don't replace it. But now you, Michael and Sara are the experts so let us know what you find.

Wayne Strausbaugh      V-42    C/C     RESTLESS                                         June 2006

see pictures of RESTLESS chainplates at:

ftp://tognews.com/Chain_Plates/Chain_Plates_V42_WayneStrausbaugh/

   Wayne: Thanks for the input, have been getting some good advice from the web site.

 
   Took my two (port and stbd) forward chain plates to a manufacturing shop.  They are 5/16 thick, the only thing on Oahu is 3/8".  So will be going with that.  I am pretty sure they will fit as I think I have 1/16 inch of play. ($200/each).

 
   The steel shop also saw some cracks in the chain plate, with the naked eye, no magnaflux.  About 1.5'' below the deck line. An area you could not see unless you removed them.  His experienced eye picked up what I missed.  The shroud hole where the shroud hardware installs on the chain plates was also slightly elongated.

 
   Will send you some pictures.

 
Cheers/Mark                                                                                                    June 2006

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