Moving Chainplates to hull exterior on Alberg30...

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Copacabana

While chainplates are engineered to be 10x stronger than necessary, when they sit behind cabinetry or hidden under the deck you can't be sure they are still in good shape. Many people have unpleasant surprises when they pull them for inspection. Mounted outboard they're in plain sight.

This is a key consideration. Many older boats with chainplates glassed into the boat under a deck penetration have cracks or corrosion on the chainplates themselves. You cannot see this. Whether you move them or not you should expose them and inspect them, and replace them if they are not solid.

Otherwise, moving them to the exterior of the hull will at least make them visible for the future.

[swordds]

Ugh! I hate it when people malign my Alberg 30. If you want to experience the joy and excitement of sailing, being on and close to the water and being in and a part of the actual environment then get an older design like an Alberg. If you want a boat almost as wide as it is long where you sit perched high an dry, yards above the actual water with all the comforts and convenience and excitement of sitting on your living room couch, then get a more modern sailing condo.

[Lionshooter]

I took my Spirit 23 to the Bahamas soon after I bought her. Learned a lot from that 1st crossing. The 3" mast bent and twisted a lot in 20-30 K wind, but nothing broke. It had single lowers and both shrouds were attached to one chainplate bolted to the bulkhead. The through deck slot for the chainplate leaked constantly from the stress and movement. It was also a toe stubber on that small boat.
I salvaged the rigging from a Hunter 25, shortened the mast and added outboard chainplates backed by 3/4" aluminum playes. I also added a 12 inch square plate under the mast step. I now had double lowers and 5/16" shrouds instead of 1/4" and a 5" mast instead of 3".
The boat made numerous crossings there after and often spent months on end sailing the islands. Even weathered the 50 knot gale off Cape Hatteras that took out Ttashman and Vera in 1981. Never one single problem arose. The peace of mind was worth giving up 5 degrees of windward ability.
Go for it!

[WingRyder]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Our friend rubbed his boat against a rough lock's wall and his chainplate went.


I would keep the chainplates inboard in any case. Fewer leak points too.



b.

I would think that if he scraped the wall hard enough to rip out a chainplate, he would have sustained significant damage with or without external chainplates.

[WingRyder]

Originally Posted by Lionshooter

I took my Spirit 23 to the Bahamas soon after I bought her. Learned a lot from that 1st crossing. The 3" mast bent and twisted a lot in 20-30 K wind, but nothing broke. It had single lowers and both shrouds were attached to one chainplate bolted to the bulkhead. The through deck slot for the chainplate leaked constantly from the stress and movement. It was also a toe stubber on that small boat.
I salvaged the rigging from a Hunter 25, shortened the mast and added outboard chainplates backed by 3/4" aluminum playes. I also added a 12 inch square plate under the mast step. I now had double lowers and 5/16" shrouds instead of 1/4" and a 5" mast instead of 3".
The boat made numerous crossings there after and often spent months on end sailing the islands. Even weathered the 50 knot gale off Cape Hatteras that took out Ttashman and Vera in 1981. Never one single problem arose. The peace of mind was worth giving up 5 degrees of windward ability.
Go for it!

Thanks, that sounds like a HUGE project, and mostly beyond my immediate ability and budget. A very intriguing project for sure. Another issue I would like to explore is how difficult it would be to take a deck stepped mast and convert it to a keel stepped mast. Obviously you would need a different mast... and a keel stepped mast on an A30 would be a problem because it would be in the middle of a narrow doorway... but engineering such a thing would be a fun exercise.

[James S]

Originally Posted by WingRyder

I would think that if he scraped the wall hard enough to rip out a chainplate, he would have sustained significant damage with or without external chainplates.

Me too...