Dear Keith,
You must forgive me for jumping in at this late stage in this topic.
I have always hated chainplates with welded-on keeper plates. When I see a weld across a load path my left eye starts to twitch and an uncomfortable feeling creeps up my spine.
That said, your plates have been in place with no problems for years. I think this is due to high quality materials and workmanship rather than any design virtues. They are large and look to have been well finished with a good anodising job and fitted properly. I think you will be hard pressed to duplicate the quality.
If I were you, even though the cost is high, I would consider the stainless steel option.
The only problem you will have with new assemblies is getting the keeper plate to press on the deck correctly. I bet that when they were first fitted at the factory, the whole assembly was offered up to the deck/hull, the keeper plates were dressed to fit, and then the lower attachment bolt holes were drilled through the bulkhead/glassed in web.
This would ensure the keeper plates were flat down on the deck and did not leak.
Trying to match the lower through bolt holes will be a nightmare. You may want to consider seperate, thicker, larger keeper plates that are fitted afterwards onto a good bed of mastic as per the bedding deck hardware thread. This will also allow you to have the chainplates lazer cut from plate and then shadow drilled off the originals before you put in the required crank.
You may have to remove the existing welded-on keeper plates then straighten out the cranked portions of your old chainplates so they lay flat against the new blanks for use as a pattern.
As always, it is entirely up to you, and will be influenced by the availability of the correct materials and labour.
Why not send the patterns for replication to Brion. You can then be sure of one of the most important components on any sailing vessel.
When discussing chainplate inspection and/or removal I always ask the client the following question:-
"If the need arose, would you be happy to lift your boat, properly slung, attached and balanced, using only the chainplates?" This usually results in much sucking of teeth and a grudging decision to inspect the chainplates after all.
On the subject of cost, and as another hypothetical question, how much would the average owner be happy and eager to pay to have their mast and sails magically back up and working just after the chainplate broke in mid passage?
Regards,
Joe Henderson.
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