Spigot pins may be assembled either through hollow bearing pins or link plates and are secured by a nut and spring washer. Getting into a routine of regularly cleaning your bike chain will stop contaminants building up, which can act as a grinding paste in the drivetrain and accelerate the rate of wear. As well as degreasing and cleaning the chain, you need to dry it and then apply chain lubricant. Trying hard to remove the old silicone on one instance I took out a huge piece of an even older provisional filling of the gone Balsa core. So one of the pre-owners at least must have been working on the same problems as I did. But instead of doing it right he opted for simply filling up the hole between the two GRP-layers of the roof with soft silicone. On port side I found the core of the roof gone in a radius of up to 10 centimeters, starboard side is a bit less severe but again I too out a lot of wet shreds of rotten Balsa wood. Rotten Balsa Wood of the Sandwich Construction All bolts holding chainplates require frequent inspections. Fashioned from 304 stainless alloy (also known as 18/8), the threads on these fasteners can collect saltwater and they can corrode quite easily. When sailmaker Dave Beatson began to remove some chainplate bolts on his Creekmore 34, half of the bolt heads fell off when he turned the wrench. So when we bought a 20-year-old Mason 44, I decided to pull out the chainplates to see what, if anything, was going on. Using a ruler, a new chain should measure exactly 12 inches across 12 links, from middle of pin to middle of pin. The number most commonly agreed on for a worn chain is one per cent elongation between links. In reality though, you should replace the chain before this point.

As I could see after removing of the wooden cover and the faux leather at least two of the shrouds did get leaky over time allowing small amounts of water penetrate the cabin. On starboard side a major part of the wooden cover is therefore destroyed and will have to be rebuild. Even if there´s just a drop every hour coming down the chain plate – after 40 years that´s a huge amount of wet stuff. Don´t forget: A King´s Cruiser – just as many sailing yachts even today – has a sandwich construction. Unless the middle layer isn´t made of foam but of Balsa wood instead there´s a danger of the wood to simply rot. The Chain Plates on the Port Side It could also be that the metal is covered by grease, sealant, dirt or some other substance that can cause oxygen to not be able to get to the metal. Standard attachments are parts fitted to a base chain to adapt it for a particular purpose as a conveying medium. Attachments may form an integral part of the link plate or may be built into the chain as a replacement of the normal link. Other attachments (according to type) are fixed to the chain plates by projection or fillet welding, to either one or both sides of the chain. If you’re at this point, replacing just the chain isn’t really an option. Instead, you will have to replace the chain, cassette and likely your chainrings. Another type of chain wear is ‘slop’. This isn’t as easy to measure, but it is common with riders who don’t put a lot of torque into their drivetrain, or perhaps spin a higher cadence.Chainplate is otherwise suitable for your application, the angle can frequently be modified to suit. Being in the midst of the refit of my King´s Cruiser 33 sailing yacht a lot of items have been crossed off my list indeed. A lot more made it onto the list during work, I guess that´s the normal way when digging deeper and deeper into the bowels of an old ship. Mine is 40 years old so it was no surprise finding that I should take a look onto the chain plates of the yacht too. This is what I´ve done today. And, well, yes, with a sigh … some more items made it onto my to-do list after some 3 hours of work. I started with a thorough baseline study of what should be done in the first place. My King´s Cruiser has four Chain Plates coming from the four Shrouds (amidships) In the late 1990s, 316-grade stainless became the prevailing material for chain plates. It had a higher Chromium content and was less prone to rusting than 304. Due to it’s lower carbon content, it is not as strong per size and harder to fashion than it’s predecessor 304. Add that along with a higher price tag, we have seen many a boat builder use a less than adequate size for the long-term requirements of rigging. It was a common misconception that rigging failed due to the fact that the swages were work hardened when they squeezed. In the end, all stainless will fail due to age, by way of corrosion, stress and oxygen deprivation. Today, 316 and 316 L for low carbon is still considered the go-to materials for chainplates. In our opinion, they have a more than adequate lifespan for the task intended. Almost everything on your boat needs repair or replacement at one time or another and chain plates are no different. So, is there anything better? attached to boat with (4) 5/8" bolts on 4 1/8" centers. Highly polished Type 316 Flat SS Chainplate is L Attachments are integral with the chain outer plates. Normally they have one or two holes (L2 preferred), but for use on scraper applications they can be supplied without holes and with various box widths (LO Type).

In conclusion, chainplates are an often overlooked portion of ones rigging. I have even witnessed rigging shops that neglect to inform customers of the importance of chainplate inspection. If in doubt of your chainplate’s state, it is, at the very least it is a good idea to have them removed, cleaned up and inspected by a professional. If you are a do it yourself-er, there is no shame in seeking advice, not just for removal but most importantly for inspecting them as well as tips on installing them properly. So if you are having your boat re-rigged, be sure to ask about those chainplates. REMEMBER: Don’t forget to replace the fasteners!It is hard to say for sure. It does seem that the chainplate job has something to do with it, as the affected area is around the chainplates. However, it also a wooden boat and there is a lot of movement in wooden boats (especially when going from completely swollen to completely dry). This movement may have just caused the bungs to pop around the newly fastened chainplates because the chainplates being fastened to the hull now offer a now stiffer reinforced area to the hull, so instead of the wood moving evenly throughout it runs into a hard spot where these plates were fastened. Then again it could be a number of other reasons, so it is hard to say.

Worn-out rollers increase the side-to-side play in the chain. As a result, the shifting is sloppier because the shifting ramps of the cassette or chainring need to work harder to derail the chain onto the desired cog.

What is chain wear?

If your chain is slightly past the wear limit, you may be able to get away with replacing just the chain. Simply fit a new chain and if you experience any skipping on the cassette or chainrings, you know the old chain has worn the cassette and chainring and these now need to be replaced. some others and are able to fabricate a variety of Custom ones, please forward a photo or sketch with A fiberglass specialist will likely have the best advice here and I would ultimately seek their advice. I may just put the boat in the water and let her settle in for a while then go around the hull with a raft and refasten and re-bung as needed. Because if the boat has been dry for a while it will certainly change shape a good bit once swelled. I am sure other things will happen like maybe some of the seems may need to be re-caulked. You just won’t know until she is wet again and settled in. For this reason alone I think it is always prudent to wait until the boat is wet to caulk, bung, refasten, even paint the hull above the water line. A good raft can be a useful investment. Don’t let your chain get this dirty, because it will wear out your other drivetrain components. Colin Levitch / Immediate Media