Chain plates

[rjbaren]

I have decided to re-bed my chain plates in case they are the culprits of the many leaks that plague my boat. After removing the covers I see the plates are set in a block of fiberglass. It looks as though the plate is sitting vertically in a rectangular block. The only re-bedding was to re-caulk the teak deck around the fiberglass blocks that the chain plates are in. If the chain plates ever needed to be replaced I would have no idea how to go about it. Is it a good or bad thing to have the chain plates set in the fiberglass in this manner. The boat is a Cheoy Lee Pedrick 1983.