Chainplate Leaking

[tomgaeb]

On our Bavaria 37 Cruiser (2006) we have a leaking starboard chainplate, Capt. Tolley helps for a little while, but it keeps reappearing so I guess it is time for a more thorough job...

Does anybody know what is best used as sealant to refit the chainplate ?
It could be it is not set in some flexible caulking but in some type of resin - at least that's the impression I get by looking from below.
Also curious if it is hard to get off the chainplate ?
And how to figure the appropriate torque when reattaching the bolts/nuts after resealing ?

And finally: as the mast is still up with the boat on the hard, I was thinking if it this job is doable without pulling the mast ?
My idea was to soften the shrouds on both sides, then attach main halyard and topping lift to the cradle (or around the keel) on the starboard side and finally take the starboard shrouds entirely off the chainplate.
Would this be a reasonable idea or a recipe for disaster?

Thomas

[Yngmar]

I've used butyl tape on mine (same chainplate + tie rod arrangement) and it worked fine. Chainplates come out easy and access is good after taking off the interior access panels. Bolt heads are stamped so you can look up the torque settings - if not, simply use the normal torque for stainless bolts of that size (lookup tables available online). Would strongly recommend some blue (medium strength) Loctite threadlocker inside the nuts to make sure they cannot vibrate lose. Can be done with the rig up, use halyards on midships cleat to keep mast from falling over. Either mark turnbuckles so you can reset them to previous tension or you'll have to re-tune the rig entirely (not always a bad thing - Selden "Hints and Advice" tells you how).

Involving the cradle in any way sounds like a very dangerous idea. If you must (i.e. there are no midships cleats), make sure you load both sides simultaneously. Tensioning from mast top to one side of the cradle only is a recipe for disaster as it could twist the boat out of the cradle. Insurance will not cover that and you'll probably be banned from the boatyard for life. A loop around the keel base would probably do the trick (and prevents getting the cradle involved). Midships cleat easier if you have them.