Chainplate - inside or outside?

[kmeeks]

I''ve recently looked at a few boats that had the chainplate mounted on the outside of the hull - and after reading Buehler''s comments -

http://www.georgebuehler.com/

and a few other cruiser stories -

http://www.worldvoyagers.com/boat/index.htm

it has give me pause to consider whether it is a worthwhile modification to my boat.

Has anyone made such a modification to their production boat - any comments afterward?

[Jeff_H]

Boats are designed and engineered as systems. External chainplates make sense only when they are a part of the overall design. The use of external chain plates only make sense when the boat in question is very narrow and has an inefficient keel and underbody, or in the case where the boat has a really huge standing sail plan and so does not use overlapping jibs.

Taking a boat that was designed for internal chainplates is no small task. It means adding stiffeners and reinforcing the hull where the chainplates are being added, building longer spreaders with a different angle. It often means changeing the chain plates on the mast to get a fair lead. It can often mean altering sails and moving sheet lead tracks and reinforcing the deck at another location than that at which the tracks were intended to go.

AND when you are done, you will end up with a boat that won''t point as high and which may need to be reefed earlier. (You are sailing at a squarer angle to the wind so the mainsail will be overpowered sooner.)

This business of moving chainplates outboard is a lot of out of date clap trap that buys you nothing worthwhile.

Jeff

[harvh]

Chain Plates on modern designs are often bonded right into inside of the hull. It would be hard to duplicate the strength by simply moving them outside. Don''t get hung up on this item. Just make sure that what ever you buy has no leaks.

You know the old saying about everyone having an oppinion.