Baby stay tearing loose

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Ed Ellis
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Baby stay tearing loose

Post by Ed Ellis »

After visually inspecting my boat before a passage, I noticed that the chain plate for my babystay was extended outward about an inch. The bolts that attach the chain plate to the bulkhead were tearing a hole in the bulkhead. There appears to be a little water damage in the bulkhead.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, how was it fixed?

One of the things that impressed me about the PDQs was what appeared to be really good chain plates.... so I was really surprised to find the babystay chain plate tearing thru the bulkhead.

I´m considering replacing the chainplate with a meater version with maybe six or more bolts so that the strain is distributed more evenly down the bulkhead rather have it all be at the top with only two bolts. Reactions to this idea or other suggestions?

Ed
Last edited by Ed Ellis on Mon Jan 09, 2006 8:27 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Lady of the Lake »

I am having the same problem. Mine is only about 1/2 inch out but there is obvious water damage to the bulkhead. I have resealed the deck so there is no more water intrusion, but the damage is done. I plan to cut out the bad section of bulkhead and glass in a new section. Doesn't sound like fun but it has to be done...
Sam and Gina Densler
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PDQ36 Hull #15
Punta Gorda, FL
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Post by Ed Ellis »

I am in Livingston, Guatamela right now and the chances of finding or having a new chain plate made seem pretty small. I will probably have to get one constructed and shipped down. Do you plan on using the original chainplate or will you get a new one made? Ed
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Post by Lady of the Lake »

I definitely plan on using the existing chain plate, assuming is it not damaged (which it doesn't appear to be). I do not believe the problem is with the chain plate, but instead, that the bulkhead is not able to handle the stress (especially when weakened by the water intrusion). So my plan is to rebuild that bulkhead area stronger than the original and then reinstall the existing chain plate.
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Post by Guest »

There is a small machine shop in Fronteras, Rio Dulce, that made me a nice s.s. exhaust flange + nipple for about $20. They have limited stock but you'd be surprised what they can do.
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Post by Ed Ellis »

FYI This discussion continues under the topic "Water Under Bed"
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Post by Ed Ellis »

FYI My 36 is hull #18, and the baby stay chainplate seems pretty inadequate (only 12" long with just 4 bolts to attach it to the bulkhead, and all are located up near where the water intrusion takes place & rots the bulkhead). To repair mine, I'm having a new one manufactored that's 24" long with 10 bolts. This will spread the load much further across the bulkhead, thus should prevent the need for future repairs and the kind of diaster Bob experienced.

The new chainplate is being custom manufactored by RigRite, Inc for $200. -- probably well worth the cost. See link below

http://www.rigrite.com

The baby stay chain plate was redesigned on newer versions of the 36 so these may have already been beefed up. Ed
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innerstay chain plates

Post by captain hank »

could anyone give me some details how to uncover and inspect the innerstay (baby stay) chainplates. Where exactly must one remove the liner to see them.

Thanks

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Post by Lady of the Lake »

No need to remove the headliner The chainplate mounts to the starboard side of the bulkhead that separates the two forward staterooms. Look on deck and see where the baby stay penetrates the deck. It protrudes another 12 inches or so below the deck at the position I described. It bolts through the bulkhead and fastens on the other side. Mine is a bit hidden behind the shelf that is positioned over my feet in the forward cabin and under a piece of carpet. I don't think this feature is on all PDQ36 hulls. Email me if you need any additional info. sdensler@mac.com

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Baby stay chainplate

Post by Bob »

I just posted a short story about the loss of hull 32 elswere on the forum that tells of the consequences of this problem
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Post by Ed Ellis »

Below is a copy of Bob's posting regarding the loss of his boat (the original posting is in the "Classified Section" and could be overlooked by owners who may have similar defects in their babystay. Ed


I am/was the owner of hull 32. The bridge deck failed at the forward bulkhead from hull to hull. The next wave came in and dumped about a foot and a half of water then sucked both berths out along with laptops,spare parts and duffles. Fortunately the EPIRB and sat phone was stored in the compartment above the berths. Happened about 4:30 am 200+ miles from nearest port (US or Mexican). Fortunately myself and the 0400 - 0800 watch were on deck. Had we not we would most definitely been either sucked all the way out or worse caught between the bridge deck and bulkhead and suffered some serious injury. We probably would have still been sailing and scooping much more water into the hulls but for the sleeping bag from the port berth that caught in the stbd prop.
We had come out into the gulf at Port Mansfield and were on the back end of a front. When that died out we began motor sailing because we knew there was another front moving in in the next 36 hrs. We were able to get the engines restarted and put the stern to the waves to keep the boat dry. As PDQ owners know the boat is not meant to go fast backwards;.) so we decided that there was no way to save the boat before the front came by. The CG overflew us and released the video to the Corpus Christi TV news. I had spent about a month in Port Aransas getting the boat ready so a lot of people knew me and began calling my wife who fortunately for her and me was not home to answer the calls. That was the last we saw of the CG. The pilot, on departure from the area, told us the Mexican Navy would be out to pick us up(oh, oh) and would arrive onsite at 1400. At about 1330 we recieved a call from the OPAL QUEEN, a 4 yr old 800'+ tanker. They were 8 miles off and had us on radar and wanted to know if we still requiered assistance. We told them of the rescue plans. My eternal thantk goes out to the Capt for contacting the CG to verify because the Mexican navy did not leave port because it was too far away(yep, thats right). We motored in reverse to the ship when it came to a near stop. One of my crew was retired CG still working under contract out of the New Orleans office. You may remember a few years ago that a tanker coming down the Mississippi that lost steerage and ended up in the parking garage of the Hilton Hotel. He was in charge of removing the vessel. He warned us of the danger of transfering to the boarding ladder. Miss it and end up in the propellers. It was a climb up the rope ladder for 20' then transfering to the gangway for the nexr 15-20'. When aboard the Capt offered his sat phone so we could call home. I had not wanted to use our phone prefering to a) conserve batteries and b) not wanting to alarm my wife. Well, fortunately I got the answering machine and left a message that all was well so that when she had listened to all the other calls she knew I was well. EPILOGUE: I had had 2 surveys and neither picked up on a totally dry rotted bulkhead between the 2 forward berths. The tabbing evidently let loose leaving the span unsupported and able to flex. The front did indeed move through that nite and the Capt said it was 40+ kts with 10' waves so I feel alright with the decision to abandon ship. The boat has not been seen since and I can only think that it broke up in the storm. It took 8 months to settle insurance. I was contacted by the previous owner of hull 34 and he relayed a similar failure. He was fortunate enough to make it to port and PDQ came down and did the repairs. PDQ in later models put a locker forward of the inner forestay which I assume was to facilitate acess and inspection. If you own an older hull I can't stress hard enough to take the time to inspect this area as I am sure the problem began with water intrusion around the chainplate.
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Post by Tex Hill »

I thought I had psoted this before, but I don't see it.
The bulkhead bewteen the two forward berths that the baby stay chain plate bolts to appears to be fiber glass covered with a thin plywood vaneer ,some foam and carpet on our boat. I see others have said it was plywood. Comments?
We have had a leak where the baby stay goes thru the deck to the chain plate. I used Captn Tolleys Creaping Crack Cure. So far so good.
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Post by Bob »

Hi Ed,
When this discussion first came up someone offered a PDF file for a repair sketch. I have a copy of it and you can contact me with you email and I'll forward it to you.
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Post by Lady of the Lake »

Bob, send me the .pdf too and I will post it on the http://www.pdq36.com website.

Sam
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Post by Ed Ellis »

Thanks, Bob, but no need to send thr sketch. I've done the repairs.

Tex, the bulkhead on hull #17 is 1" plywood, with fiberglass reinforcement at the seams. PDQ may have changed to all-fiberglass bulkheads in later models, but my guess is that they started coating all of the plywood with fiberglass... but it's just a guess.

Very few sailboats use all-fiberglass interior bulkheads due to the weight factor.

Ed
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