Chain Plate Rebedding

A few pics for those who would like to know what's under your chainplate covers. When I decided to rebed Panther's chainplates I did't know how much effort it would take or what I would find. It was tedious and long but not hard at all. I used a dental pick, needle nose plyers, a loose razor blade, and a small screwdriver to dig out the old bedding. There isn't much sealing material around the chainplate but I can vouch for it's tenacity. Each chainplate took around 30-45 minutes to dig out and rebed with Silpruf. Clean the area with Acetone. I was very happy to see dry, solid teak and shiny metal under the plate. The cost of not rebedding your plates should not even be considered. If your boat is over 10 years old, do know when the last time your chain plates were rebedded?



It's not always easy to take pics while working. After taking the pics below and the bedding dried I cleaned and buffed the stainless.



The last step per Norm Pierce is: After it has cured, usually a couple of days, apply a bead of Aluminum colored GE Silicone sealer between the chain plate and the cover. With the small tube you can easily lay the bead without any cleanup and because of the color you wont even notice it. It is there to protect the Silpruf and can easily be peeled off each year and replaced in about 20 minutes.

Using this method some boats (that keep their rigs tensioned) that have gone 10 to 12 years without a leak.



Data sheet for SilPruf can be read at

http://www.gesilicones.com/USADataSheets/167.html