Chainplate orientation folkboat
 

Hello,
I'm a owner of a m26 folkboat and after 30years of service I want change the chainplates.
My question is how to orienting its respect the mast! Bow-stern or pointing the mast.
The rig is 7/8 with the spreader pointing back.
Any advise?
Cheers gabriele

The photos of my boat are on my blog www.marieholm26.org

It depends
 

Hello there,
Ideally, the chainplate clevis pin hole should be at right angles to the plane of the wire. So if, for instance, the chainplate is directly athwart the mast, the hole points fore-and-aft.
If the chainplate is aft of the mast, and the wire leads diagonally forward, then the chainplate should be rotated to accommodate the new lead.
But sometimes this is not easy to do. If you have existing holes, assuming they are symmetrically spaced, you can only shift things by 90 degrees. So the lead from the chainplate will be foul no matter what you do. If that is the case, choose the position that is less foul. Unless the lead is exactly 45 degrees, one orientation will be fairer. Alternatively, consider fabricating chainplates with appropriately-angled lugs.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss