chainplate leaks fixed

Eric Johnson (eric@theftnet.net)
Mon, 9 Nov 1998 10:13:26 -0800


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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I fixed some more of my major leaks this weekend. I was getting some water
in all 4 chainplates. What would happen is water would run down the rigging
into the slot, or water on deck would pool, and go under the slotted deck
plate, and run down the chainplate inside.

I unhooked the rigging, drilled out the rivets holding the deck plates in
place, and punched the ends of the rivets through. The underside of these
deckplates were very dirty, confirming my suspicion that thats where much of
the water came in. I had previously attempted to seal the upper slot, but
was still getting water in. So, I cleaned 'em up, slathered lifecaulk
(polysulfide) in the slot, reinstalled the deckplates, then smoothed
everything out with a wet soapy finger. I also erected the mast so the caulk
would set in the normal postion it would be when the mast is up (due to the
tension on the stays, etc).

So far, its looking and working good. hopefully this will greatly reduce the
wetness in the compartments above the head and sink. I also finally painted
the bare wood in these compartments with some white oil-based polyurethane
paint to help reduce the soaking of moisture into the bare softwood.

Eric
P19 #461, Bothell, WA