Chain plate still leaks ugh

I feel your frustration. Can you tell us more about the type chainplate, the boat, and post a photo of the area, ect? Lot of smart people here but we could use a little more info.

If the deck core is soaked, then that can continue to weep water through any opening. Water from leaking deck hardware can definitely travel to another area and come out there.

Mark

colemj said:

If the deck core is soaked, then that can continue to weep water through any opening. Water from leaking deck hardware can definitely travel to another area and come out there.

Mark

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Thanks. Does anyone use food coloring or some sort of tracer to aee where water us getting in? I swear I locked down that chainplate with butyl.

Can you put a hose on it and go below to see if it’s actively leaking?

Water travels, so in my experience, in looking for a leak, Start high and work your way down. In my case it was the handrails on the cabin top that were leaking and the water traveled down and exited from one of the portlights.
The leak could be higher, or adjacent and traveling to exit at the chainplate.

As Colemj stated if the core is wet, it could continue to weep. Have you sounded the area around the chainplates?
When you pull the chainplates, do they pass through a cored deck? With a chainplate removed can you determine of the core is wet. ( press around the edges and see if it weeps, or use an ice pick or something to probe and see how soft the core is.)

One of the flaws on some builds ( mine included) is that they don't seal the ends of the slots where the chainplates pass through, which exposes the core.

Thanks for the helpful thoughts. My boat (Kent Ranger 24) has a solid fiberglass deck and cabin top (unusual I know). I have confirmed this when I have drilled holes to install hardware... and you can see light shining through thin parts of it. That said, the fiberglass within the slot the chainplates pass through is discolored and brown/rusty looking. I wonder if neglected long enough whether fiberglass can rot and delaminate even without a wood core?

The problem with chainplates through a slot in the deck is that they move and shear the sealant right off. Stainless cap plates make the problem even worse. I did a lot of research on this kind of problem for a project and the answer is pretty simple. Make the slot MUCH bigger. You want 1/4" of gap all the way around the chainplate. Stuff polyethylene foam backer in the bottom of the slot then fill it proud of the deck with 5200. Now the chainplate can move up, down and sideways for 1/4" without breaking loose.

Sure, I'm not a boat construction expert, but it they routed out the slots for the chainplates through the glass and didn't seal the ends, my guess is that water could seep into the ends. I'd clean out that brown, rusty colored stuff on one and see what you can see. I suppose you could then pot the whole slot with epoxy, ( tape up the opening from inside to hold it in place) and then route a new slot, leaving the ends sealed assuming you have a little room.

The re-bed. If I recall, I used 3M 101 sealant on my chainplates and it worked well. But they discontinued that. I see a product called Total Boat Seal in Jamestown. The 101 was flexible and removable. 5200 would be a nightmare to clean out I think.

boatpoker said:

Not great resolution but the first photo certainly appears to have some significant pits and fine fractures at the bottom hole. I suggest you have a rigger look at them.

The photos below are an x-ray of a single pit on a prop shaft and what that shaft looked like when inside when it broke, the principle is the same. A single pit, pinsize on the outside is very likely hundred of times larger on the inside.

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Thanks!

i guess my question was. Can a non-cored deck still rot, get soft, delaminate and have cleats etc pull our under load?

clearly I need to rebed everything… and probably get new chain plates fabricated. That may cost more than what i paid for theboat😃

matthewwhill said:

Thanks!

i guess my question was. Can a non-cored deck still rot, get soft, delaminate and have cleats etc pull our under load?

clearly I need to rebed everything… and probably get new chain plates fabricated. That may cost more than what i paid for theboat😃

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Decay of FRP on the deck or even delamination or blisters is highly unlikely. You just need to seal everything well. I'm surprised the butyl failed, I've never seen it fail before ... you did seal it from the outside right ?

Send me a sketch with dimensions and I'll send you a Cad DXF file that you can send to SendCutSend.com and they will laser cut you new plates fairly inexpensively. Choose 316 stainless.
[email protected]

Maybe go a little thicker stock so it will flex less? You can buy flat bar from onlinemetals.com and drill the holes yourself.

GaryHLucas said:

Send me a sketch with dimensions and I'll send you a Cad DXF file that you can send to SendCutSend.com and they will laser cut you new plates fairly inexpensively. Choose 316 stainless.
[email protected]

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Thanks that is really considerate! Next time i pull them i’ll do that.