Agggh - flexing side decks

[Giulietta]

Wonderfull all for explaining and showing it to me...thank you 1000 times

Alex

[RAGTIMEDON]

I've seen both ways, but my 37 Endeavour has the shrouds out far enough they tie directly into the sides of the hull.
I had a friend with a 20 year old Bristol which had the shrouds tied through the coachroof to an internal bulkhead. The bulkhead was a sandwich of 3/4 plywood with thin fiberglass on both sides. He had leaks around the chainplates which were masked by the fiberglass, until the plywood rotted and a wind gust ripped out the chainplates. He was dismasted in the main channel of the Mississippi River, less than a mile from an approaching barge. His radio antenna, at the top of his mast, did not send out a signal while under his boat. He could not use his motor with his sails and rigging down there. He was lucky another sailor was close enough to see his plight, radio the barge Captain, and get a tow line on the Bristol. Had he been alone on the river, it could have cost him his life, because the barge captain was almost 1000 feet behind the bow of the first barge, and typical stopping distance for a loaded towboat is almost half a mile! Moral of the story -- check your chainplates for leaking, especially if bolted to a plastic covered bulkhead!

[BritAbroad]

Great info from all. I'm slowly gathering enough courage to work up to this. (After pulling the chain plates and checking for lack of moisture).

I guess my main thought is: does it work?

Have any of you actually done the drill and fill job and seen significant improvment in the stiffness of your deck to the extent that the loads exerted by shrouds can be resisted?

I'm concerned by the comments on other threads which imply that doing anything short of a recore is a waste of time.

SD - the cap shroud chainplates do attach to the bulkheads, but I see no sign of deck deformation here, there's no sign of water ingress here (or on the inside around any of the chain plates). I've also checked the bulkheads for separation from the hull when well heeled and under load - no sign. Interestingly, Catalina 27 bulkheads are not tabbed to the hull - simply bolted to the hull liner. Another reason not to take them offshore but to enjoy in semi-protected waters only.

The lowers attach only to the side decks. No tie rods, no bulkhead attachement. No great surprise really that after 30 years the decks are starting to move. Doesn't make me feel any better though.....

[Sailormann]

So the chainplates bolt to the bulkhead, how? Just curious...

Weird system, very weird...

Catalina

[Rickm505]

It seemed to work for me, however, I wasn't repairing chainplates. In my case it was the jib sheeting track which developed leaks and completely rotted the deck core. I would think this would have to have similar forces, right?

Originally Posted by BritAbroad

Great info from all. I'm slowly gathering enough courage to work up to this. (After pulling the chain plates and checking for lack of moisture).

I guess my main thought is: does it work?

Have any of you actually done the drill and fill job and seen significant improvment in the stiffness of your deck to the extent that the loads exerted by shrouds can be resisted?.....

[NOLAsailing]

Have any of you actually done the drill and fill job and seen significant improvment in the stiffness of your deck to the extent that the loads exerted by shrouds can be resisted?

Yes, I have actually done it. No, it is not a significant improvement. The exception to this would be if you are dealing with a small area. As mentioned earlier, if it is more that 1'x1', then you need to recore.

The good news is that it is not a terribly difficult job. It can be done from above or below, if there is access. It really isn't that much harder than drilling and filling and you can make a good argument that it is less destructive than drilling lots and lots of small holes.

The link below brings you to a page on my old website for my Pearson Triton. I imported the whole site into my new site to preserve it and it did not go smoothly - there are dead links and missing pages. However, this page discusses the drill and fill method and briefly mentions the reasons for a proper recore. Apologies for dead links (working on that):

http://www.rambunctiousracing.com/Pr...oreRepair.html

[BritAbroad]

Pulled the u-bolt for the lower shroud today. Core definitely soft and wet.

Trying to work out if I have enough courage/time to do a recore.

[NOLAsailing]

In order to work that out, you'll need to know how big of an area it is. Start by using a plastic hammer to sound out the decks. Using fairly rapid, but not hard, strikes, hit the deck as though you are looking for a stud in a wall in your house. The area with wet core will resound with a dull thud; it will be a much different sound than an intact area. Once you have a rough idea, drill a few test holes, from the bottom if you prefer, and determine the extent of the damage. A fairly small area is not a huge project.

[cardiacpaul]

you also may want to pull one of the portlights, check the core inbetween the fore & aft window, i'll bet its wet there too.