For those who have been following us on YouTube you would know that we have had the chainplate on the port side pulling out of the bulkhead.

The existing arrangement for the chainplate is a stainless steel strap with a backing plate with the bulkhead sandwiched in between. It is held in place with fully shanked M10 bolts but this was not always the case.

See our blog post and video on our moving chainplates. We ended up replacing the fully threaded existing bolts that held the metal chainplate in place with fully shanked ones while we were in Las Palmas, Canary Islands.

The new bolts held the port chainplate in place with no movement for our transatlantic journey and for the winter season in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the chainplates have now started to move again and we are forced to look at making more serious repairs.

We had two solutions available to us : the first involved de-coring the bulkhead in the affected area and replacing it with solid glass inserts so that we could bolt it into a more solid bulkhead structure. After further investigation, we decided that this solution would be just as much work as making an entirely new bulkhead piece with a new carbon chainplate laminated into the structure. This second solution would also address the issue of leaking around the chainplate area as we could laminate and seal the chainplate into place. We had enough Airex foam and e-glass and carbon for the job. The tricky part would be sourcing the correct resin in the Caribbean Islands and how we were going to deal with the lack of a vacuum pump for consolidating the glass to the new bulkhead.

The first part of the process has been to design a new bulkhead and chainplate arrangement. Then print out the new design to use as a template and cut the foam to shape. This piece will be the new bulkhead with chainplate laminated in place ready to fit to Paikea.

Next step was to laminate e-glass to each side of the foam. We initially tried to use a standard vacuum cleaner with the fitting from one of our plastic vacuum storage bags however we were unable to seal it adequately enough to create the vacuum needed to consolidate the resin and glass to the core. We then had to remove the failed glass skin and try again, this time laminating and consolidating the resin and glass by pressing it into place. This involved heating the resin to melting point and removing from the foam. We will have a video here soon to show the process here shortly.

Once this step was complete it was time to add the chainplate pin sleeve. We used a piece of stainless steel tube laminated with fibreglass.

The stainless steel pin was laminated with one layer of eglass cloth and then the foam was sanded to create a cradle to fit the stalinless pipe into. This will be the sleeve pin for the new chain plate. The fibreglassed stainless steel pin was then glued into place using epoxy resin.

Next we sanded the surface and then used plywood and hot glue to fit fences. These fences are guides used to keep the carbon fibre in place when we laminate the straps for the chainplate

The next step is to apply the carbon fibre. We played around with making an envelope to put the bulkhead in and vacuum to consolidate. It was a good solution however the resin working time proved too quick and we were forced to hand laminate and hope the consolidation was enough.

Carbon fibre unidirectional being hand laminated in to place on the fibreglass/foam bulkhead. This is half the laminate which we will cure and then add the remaining half.

Post curing was done in the Caribbean sun. We left the job on the cabin top for at least 24 hours.

Once post cure was complete, it was necessary to sand the surface ready for the next lamination.

Lamination and peel ply application.

The bulkead with chainplate and kids removing the bolts for the chainplate

The damaged bulkhead revealed. You can clearly see where the bolts have pulled up through the bulkhead. Yikes!

Removing the bulkhead.

The plywood core is completely rotten which explains why the chainplate bolts moved. In Europe, the weather is pretty dry, particularly in Spain. Having the boat in the Caribbean during summer with a regular afternoon downpour most days has meant the rot accelerated and there is literally no plywood core left. The only thing holding the chainplates in place was two thin skins of fibreglass.

Gluing the new bulkhead piece with carbon chainplate into place. We used epoxy resin to bog into place. The bulkhead was butt joined to the existing bulkhead and glued in place. The entire area including the chainplate, new bulkhead, the old bulkhead, hull and cabin top was then laminated with DB eglass. This is the structural component of the process and the key to keeping the new composite chainplate in place.

The fibreglass skins sandwiching the carbon chainplate are what takes and distributes the load from the sidestays. It is crucial to make sure that all surfaces are properly prepared before laminating the DB eglass into place:

The next step is to laminate the exterior to the deck surface.

Above the deck the chainplates receive carbon capping. So much carbon. It is way more grunty than it needs to be. Shayne added layers just to try and make it match the look of the rest of Paikea.

Now that the paint is on, there is only one last job to do. It’s time to attach the sidestays and load it up. A short trip from Guadeloupe to Marie Galante in light airs should do it.

Make sure you check out our blog on making the carbon chainplate and replacement bulkhead. We also talk in detail about how we glued the bulkhead in place in a separate video. We have been extremely happy with the new composite chainplate. There are no leaks as the deck is now sealed and the new structure is solid and strong.

We have decided to not put all the original cupboards and linings back in as they are heavy and clutter what little space we have in the hulls. Instead we will begin the process of fairing and painting the hulls. This is a very labour intensive and messy job. Our aim is to take Paikea somewhere where we can lift the boat out of the water and move off the boat while we complete the work.

You can see we have already started on the daggerboard case and hope to get the same finish throughout the rest of the boat.