[Rhodes22-list] Bow Chocks

[Graham Stewart]

All this concern about attaching hardware might seem like overkill but
perhaps my experience might put it all into context. On my older Rhodes (74)
I had spider cracking around absolutely every hole drilled to hold any
hardware. In addition I had rot in the fore deck core. I have now replaced
the core in the entire foredeck, stripped the boat of absolutely all
hardware, dug out or ground away all of the cracks, filled everything with
epoxy filler, re-glassed and faired all of the areas that had been non-skid,
sanded all of the deck and cockpit surfaces - repeatedly and endlessly- ,
applied epoxy base coat and am in the process of spray painting the whole
deck - having first to learn how to spray paint. After the painting I will
need to apply non-skid and reinstall all of the hardware.  All of this is
not a trivial task having consumed most of my free summer time for three
years now and you can be darned sure that when I get to the point of
reinstalling the hardware the holes will be oversized, the core exposed  in
the  hole will be well sealed with epoxy, it will be bedded in butyl, not
silicone or 5200,  the opening will be bevelled and there will be backing
plates on everything. 

Personally, I plan to do all that Todd and others have suggested and
anything else that might be suggested before attaching hardware and consider
it an absolutely trivial  investment in time compared to the time and
expense associated with  making major deck repairs. My suggestion to anyone
planning to re-bed hardware that they take the opportunity to do it right or
do it my way.


Graham Stewart


-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of sprocket80
Sent: April-09-13 12:32 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Bow Chocks

The whole exercise of over drilling and filling the hole with epoxy (in
cored decks) then re-drilling to the diameter of the screw is to seal the
deck coring completely. Bedding compound eventually shrinks, wears, gets
exposed to the elements, etc., and fails. Especially on chocks and chain
plates which are also put under heavy mechanical loads. Squirting bedding
compound into the holes and spreading it under the fixture offers little
barrier to water intrusion into the core once it has failed, especially
since the screw is going to push almost all of it out of the hole and into
the cabin. Boat owners should re-bed the deck hardware every few seasons or
so but often only find out the bedding compound has failed is when they feel
a soft spot in the deck and the core is already failing.

Countersinking the hole (getting a clean cut with a countersink bit--NOT
drill bit) accomplishes two jobs. First the flat underside of the fitting is
going to force the compound into the countetsunk hole and around the
fastener. Forcing it into a narrowing beveled hole is going to create a
tighter plugging effect of the compound. Second, it removes a stress point
of the screw against the edge of the gelcoat skin. Bedding compound should
not completely harden and remain somewhat pliable. A fitting like a chock
which gets lateral loading, is going to want to move by some small amount.
With a straight drilled hole, the screw is going be in direct contact with
and put stress on the edge of the skin around the hole. And as Dennis
pointed out, we all know what stress does to the gelcoat.

Todd T




-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Graham Stewart
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2013 10:29 AM
To: 'The Rhodes 22 Email List'
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Bow Chocks

Rummy is probably right. There is no wood core in the edge that can rot
anyway and the fibreglass is quite thick there. So that would not be a
concern. If you decide to do that I would countersink slightly the screw
holes in the gel coat and bed the chock carefully as you will otherwise
probably get spider cracks in the gel coat around the screws over time.

Graham Stewart

-> snipped

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