The Case of the Missing Chainplates
The importance of chainplates can not be over emphasized, because when they fail disaster is
eminent. Many sailboats have accessible chainplates which are easy to inspect. Some, especially
older models, 60,s and 70,s vintage, have port and starboard chainplates which are secured to
plywood which is laminated and then secured to the structure. Many companies used plywood which
is sandwiched between layers of woven roving and secured to the hull with woven roving. This
technology would be great if, over time, water did not leak through the deck penetration and saturate
the plywood. Once the plywood is wet, rot begins to set in, and it does not take long before the
chainplate supporting plywood is rotted away completely.
In order to check these types of secured chainplate supports they must be sounded and in
some cases core sampled. Also, the securing bolts may be loose if the wood has rotted away.
Another situation that is rare but serious, I will call the “Case of The Missing Chainplate”. All
boat owners are not created equal, as interior decorating to some owners may be more important to
those darn things that stick out over there, (chainplate supports). I got a call one day from a judge
who was having trouble collecting a settlement from his insurance company after a dis-masting during
his first race. I arrived at the vessel with the judge and was informed that the judge had been working
on the vessel for the past year and had made serious modifications to the interior so that it was very
comfortable and just a great live aboard and summer home.
The judge explained how the dis-masting occurred during his first race while he was on a broad
reach with winds about 25 knots. He then explained how his crew brought to his attention that the
deck, amidships, right along the starboard side was beginning to lift, a couple of inches at first and
then a foot during the next minute or so. As luck would have it he said “a slight gust came along” and
off went the mast to port. The mast was keel stepped and broke off clean at the deck and departed to
the water with all attached gear and sails. Luckily no one was injured and the vessel was towed back
to port. The good judge’s racing career was temporarily put on hold. How was this possible on such a
large, well designed, contemporary sloop?
The good judge hired a crew to remodel the main salon in order to make it more spacious. The
crew, he thought, was great as they had done a wonderful job on his new kitchen at home. As you
might expect the crew had no knowledge of vessel maintenance or structures and simply removed
anything they could to make the main salon more spacious. They removed the chainplates, modified
them and re-secured them to the underside of the deck. A new head liner was installed and everything
looked great to the judge when the crew departed.
The bottom line was that the insurance company declined to pay the claim because of the
modifications which were made caused the vessel to be unsafe. As removing chainplate supports
because there are in the way is not acceptable. In my sailing experience, I have observed more than
a few dis-masted older Pearson’s and Bristols towing their standing rigging back to port and those
were the lucky ones. A dis-masting under the right conditions can be fatal to the vessel and its crew.
Typically the bow and stern plates are visible as they are usually bolted right to the hull in plain sight
and any defect should be obvious.
Over the years I have observed vessel owners who were preparing for a race tuning their
rigging. In one case the owner said to me, “this stay was tight a few minutes ago, I tightened it just a
little more to be safe and now it is loose”. A few minutes later he and his crew sailed off for the
Wednesday night club race. This owner had tightened the rigging to the point of collapse, and he
actually separated the plywood mounted chainplate from the hull. I could not believe he was sailing
away. Fortunately there was very little wind for the race that night and he made it back to the dock still
unaware of what might have happened.
Back to other Articles