Chainplates

Since everything else has been removed from the boat it was no big surprise that I now choose to remove all the chainplates. I had tried not to do this but i have come so far now to leave them in place would probably come back to bite me. They had obviously been a source of water leaks before so rebedding them would help that. Once removed I could properly clean them up as they had been painted over many times and one was even encased in fiberglass. I widened the top deck fiberglass (all new and painted) with a dremel to allow for removal. Unbolted they removed quite easily with a little hammer persuasion. I was surprised to find that two of the stainless steel plates showed signs of corrosion (heavy pitting) right where they penetrated the deck. This would have been below the teak decking but just above the fiberglass. I have no choice but to replace them so I will have to fashion the replacements from some 1/4" stainless stock. Luckily I can use the old ones as templates.