Jan Williamson Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 I have been contemplating the chainplate issue. To install before finishing the hull or after. I also priced them at a boat supply place 32 bucks each :shock: I don't even have to have fancy ones. My local machine shop charges 40 for just the material and cut to length. I would have to shape them and drill them. I have a bench grinder, and a drill press. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Downs Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Hi Jan, I plan on making my own. Ace Hardware has a whole rack of steel in small amounts. I built a half size chuckwagon recently and I made all the hardware with nothing more than a drill, vise, file and a small soldering torch with mepp gas in it. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Pyeatt Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Jan, Did you have your Blonde wig on when you went in there or something? This is only a little boat. It doesn't need much in the way of chainplates to work well. I don't have the drawings with me here in Hawaii, but it seems to me that they are only 8" long and about 3/4-1" in width. I would recommend that you avoid that place at all costs in the future. For reasonably priced rigging hardware for small boats, go to www.Glen-L.com and go to their "Contact Us" page. Ask them to send you their Boatbuilding & Marine Supplies catalog and price sheets. I think you will find you can get chainplates for about $3.00 each that will fill the bill nicely. I would wait to install them untill after you have glassed the hull and finished it. Less chance of creating a potential leakage area that way. I would drill out the toe rail for them once I got them and install the backing plates before finishing the hull so you have things in place, but wait until you are finishing and rigging the boat to install the plates. If you are looking for good lines and blocks without spending a fortune and you don't want to make your own blocks try the Wooden Boat Foundation Chandlery in Port Townsend, WA. They have good prices on cordage and Tufnil blocks as well as Ash blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Mellema Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Jan It is easy to make your own chainplates. You sound like you have all the tools needed to make them. I used a drillpress a hacksaw and a vise to make mine. I would wait to put them on after you finish the hull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High C Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Definitely finish the hull first, and be sure to bend the chain plates to the correct angles, as in the plans, so they point towards the tip of the mast. I highly recommend the dead eyes, too! They are so quick to adjust, which you have to do every time you raise/lower the mast, and look great, too. Much easier than turnbuckles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannah Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Jan, the chainplates available from Glen-L have been used by several people, as Barry says. They come flat so bending to the correct angle is the only real challenge. I find stainless steel hard to work with and it is not fun to drill with no experience but the locals here on the board can likely guide you if you decide to give it a whirl. The prices you were quoted are just nuts. :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Ruedel Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Plenty of 1" stock available at Ace, HD, or Lowes. Cuts easily with a hacksaw, or even better, a cutting wheel in a handgrinder, which can also be used to round it off. Do it at night outside and it creates a good show for the neighbors. A vise, a heavy hammer, and a drill and you have all the chainplates you want in an hour for a couple of bucks total. Stainless costs a bit more, and is a little harder to drill - need the more expensive carbide or alloyed. Drill slow with lots of oil and pressure to keep the heat down. I went with plain stock, painted black after shaping, because it seemed to look more natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Williamson Posted February 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 When I looked at the plans and saw the 1 3/16" width, by 8"length by 3/16 thickness of stainless steel I assumed that is what I needed. Of course living in a small town doesn't help so after spending an hour on line looking for ready made chainplates, including Glen-l, I called the machine shop only to find out the stock is $32. They quoted me $150.00 to do all the shaping. :shock: After seeing Barry's post (thanks for the dumb blonde joke by the way, dumb? no! ignorant, well maybe :oops: ) I ended up calling Glen-l and the gal there said they didn't have all their accessories online yet, that's why I didn't see chainplates the first time. I would have prefered to make them myself, but I would have had to buy the special drill bit for stainless. I thought about using regular steel, but I thought the rust was an issue. You can paint them but the paint will rub off from the turnbuckle and expose the bare metal. Maybe I am being over cautious again? So after talking to the gal at Glen-l in person, she had two I could choose from. The 1 1/4" by 10" by 3/16" were $27.00 each, the 3/4" by 8" by 1/8 were $2.48 each (different manufacturers) So I ordered 8 of them so I can double them if needed. $21.00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt jake Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Far cry from what I paid; you should be happy with that! :0 I had a machine shop machine the gooseneck and tangs for such along with the chain plates. I can't recall the exact price, but I was happy considering all of the work involved with the gooseneck! The plates are SS and built for for a boat MUCH larger than a Weekender!! :shock: I think they are 1/4" thick! No need for this over extreme; I let them play with their intilectual machining fortitude and we played on the price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Pyeatt Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 No inference intended Jan. It is just that all too often when sales people see any woman coming in to check on things, the most expensive comes out and there just doesn't seem to be any other alternatives. And I hate that. Most women I know are much better shoppers than I am. :wink: I hate that too. :oops: I had checked with a local machine shop for them too and was quoted $10 each. They would have been polished Stainless Steel and I'm sure that they would have worked just fine. And the fabricators that I've used for years quoted $100 to do the 4 of them. 6-8 weeks lead time. I think I must have had my blonde wig on when I visited them. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnie Eaton Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 I found that most good hardware stores stock gal. steel in flat stock in different sizes and thickness. I made almost all the fittings I needed from that kind of steel. I do have a bending tool for steel and that helped. I also made the mast head fitting from S.S. pipe and rod. Bent the rod into "V" shaped pieces and had them welded on the sides of the pipe. Did the same for the "kranz iron" for the bow sprit. I try to make all the items I can. Saves money and is sorta fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt jake Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 think I must have had my blonde wig on when I visited them. And Jan, he does have a blonde wig! :) At least it is a full wig! :) Or is that silver??? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Pyeatt Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 I"m afraid it isn't a wig at all, it is all mine and the hairstylist told me that there are still a few dark brown ones scattered about. Very few indeed! But I will acknowledge that it is silver going on white. It is that extinguished sea captain look I'm going for. :wink: We're on Molokaii for a few days with friends from the mainland that have a home here. They also have a nice sailboat, a 50' Choy lee ketch that they sailed across from the Asian mainland to Hawaii and then left it here. Should have some fun for the next couple days anyway. Then we are planning on riding the mules down the trail to the old leper colony. I think I got conned into this! Will let you know. Haven't been on horse...whoops muleback in years and years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Williamson Posted February 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Barry, I know what you mean. :? I absolutely hate going in not knowing what to expect. :x I do have a nice fabricator guy that has done some custom work building me a wheelchair platform for transporting my daughters powerchair on the back of the RV. He is not the same machine shop guy. He told me to bring in what ever drawings of pieces I need and he'll make them. I ordered the 3/4" wide chainplates though from Glen-l but I am not sure they will be wide enough for the 3/16 hole. The plan calls for 1 3/16 wide. So the metal guy said if they didn't work, he'd do the actual size called for for about $40 for all four. Does anyone have a pic or diagram of a good shroud spreader because I will probably have him make those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Pyeatt Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 From Phil Davis's website. Excellent place to visit and browse. http://www.pragdata.com/philboat/PlanSpreader.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnie Eaton Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Phils drawing is good. Tom Surbrook of Spokane WA has the same setup. He had only a screw in the bottom hole and when he and I were sailing in a stiff breeze, the screw snapped with a loud crack. Needless to say a bolt replaced the screw. Spreaders are a great help to keep the gaff from hanging up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt jake Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 I also made a spreader per Phil's planlet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Williamson Posted February 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 Thanks for the link, I like the idea of making my own parts from galvinized steel. Thanks Arnie. I'm on a budget Since I am not a metal expert, what do you use to cut this material? and if painted Any particular type of paint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt jake Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 I simple hack saw and a file will get it done. If you have access to a grinder, that would really help out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnie Eaton Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 Along with what Jake said, you need a vise and a hammer, also a drill with asorted bits. As far as paint, wash with a solvent, let dry, then used a good metal primer, then paint. Again use a good metal paint. On some heavy metal, I used a reciprocating saw with metal cutting blade. These are small jobs you can do between the big ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.