Oil Canning Transom O'Day 35

[jimgolding]

I looked on Yachtworld and saw some O'Day 35s, which seem to have a single backstay and a reverse transom. I have a Morgan 32, which has a slight reverse transom and split backstays. Even though the transom angles inboard, the transom does not point to the masthead. The chainplate, however, extends above the transom, and is bent inboard (as was the chainplate I saw on the ODay on Yachtworld) at the point where the chainplate reaches the top of the transom. On my boat, this bend makes the chainplate line up exactly with the backstay as it reaches the transom.

I think this bend in the chainplate helps prevent oil-canning of the transom. When I replaced these chainplates, a machine shop made replacements which included the bend, but the old ones had the correct bend, too, so the new ones of course came out correctly.

Jim