Conference unifix::sailing

re .0:

I'm not sure I understand what you're describing and asking. It sounds
like you mean chain plate, not stanchion plate. Is the plate you
describe one that a mast shroud attaches to? (This is a chain plate.) Is
the bulkhead plywood or something else? Is the fracture in the bulkhead
just below (vertically) the block of wood and plate? Is your diagram to
be viewed looking for and aft? 

signed, 

Puzzled

PS If what you describe is a chain plate, and if the bulkhead has 
fractured, you have a serious problem and risk a catastrophic failure 
under sailing load. How old is the boat, and who built it? I have some 
ideas about how to repair the problem, but I'd suggest professional 
advice (the builder [?], a competent surveyor, or a good boatyard). 

    
    
    
    	sorry, it is a chain plate, the boat was made by O'Day
    	and they out of business. The wall is plywood with
    	teak over it. The picture is looking foreward to the
    	bow. Yes I know this could cause serious problems.
    	The boat is three years old. The two mast shrouds are
    	attached to this one plate for the starboard side.
    
    	The crack is hair line, horz. across the grain. The way 
    	it looks, their is a one inch block of wood behind
    	the plate to make it even with the one on the wall
    	on the other side. The stress of rocking fore
    	and aft has given it enough angle to pull the plate
    	and block, cracking the bulkhead wall they are attached to.
         
                         :
                         :
            side view:   : shroud
                         :
           mast |   |    | plate
             ===|===|====|=============   Deck
                     | |-|
             ^       | | | 
             |       | | | 1" block of wood/plate
             |       | |_|
        <hull wall>  | | +<--  hair line crack running horz under the
             |       | |       block of wood
             |       | |                       
             v       | | 1" plywood/teak 
                     | |    bulkhead wall
                     | |
    
    
    
    
    
    

Is the bulkhead fractured completely through, or is just the outer ply 
broken? If the fracture is all the way through, the problem is more 
difficult to repair. Are there any signs of failure on the other side?

By the way, do the shroud turnbuckles have toggles? Toggles should prevent 
severe bending stress on the turnbuckles, chain plates, and bulkheads. 
Whatever solution you choose should be applied to both sides of the 
boat.

    
    
    
    
    	I'll have to look at the turnbuckles for
    	toggles. I didn't check the other side
    	as yet. It looked like it was stress
    	from the teak veneer over the plywood.
    
    	But I want the boat yard to check it out.
    
    	I don't know how the other side could be
    	renforced because the plate is flat against
    	the bulkhead wall.
    
    	The boat is sailed in Buzzards Bay at 18-25 knots
    	and I think  it  was only design for lakes under 
    	18 knots of wind.  
    
    	richard

    Did I read correctly ?? Is O'Day out of business ? If so, when
    did this happen ?  I remember someone else remarking that they
    had heard a rumor that O"Day had gone under... but it was just a
    rumor.
    
    Signed,
    
    1982 O'Day 28 owner
    

    We keep our boat down near Fall River (home of O'Day) and one of
    the guys at our marina was telling us that his neighbor, who used
    to work for O'Day, is now looking for a job.

This month's SOUNDINGS said O'Day was still in business; but was looking to 
subcontract all boat building.

- Bob

    re .0
    
    This sounds like an odd configuration for a structural bulkhead.
    Are the port and starboard sides not in the same plane?  Was the
    wood block there when the boat was new?  Any evidence on deck of
    a botched fixit job?  
    
    The usual test for movement in a crack is to paint some fingernail
    polish across the crack and to check for break in the paint over
    time.  I'd suggest doing this and putting the mast in boat on land.
    Then crank down on the turnbuckles with extreme vigor.  This may
    tell whether the crack is deep or cosmetic.  If you have a tension
    gauge, you can measure shroud tension over time.  A structural defect
    won't allow the maintenance of a consistent tension.
    
    If the crack is for real and the block was in the original design
    spec, the ultimate fix may call for not only replacing the bulkhead
    but also relocating it and adding reinforcing members.  For a three
    year old boat, you'd normally have recourse to manufacturer.  But
    based on the previous replies, O'day may not be too cooperative.
    
    Hope it's just a cosmetic defect.
    
    - gene

    
    
    	The block of wood was design to put them on plane
    	from the manufacturer. 
    
    	I'll check the deck around the plates for stress.
    	thanks.
    
    
    	richard