U bolts for chainplates

[LeonF]

Am on the brink of buying a new boat renowned for being tough, sea worthy and go anywhere. My surveyor was surprised to see u-bolts, although attached to substantial fittings well secured below decks. Just wondered if any of you have experience of boats with u-bolts in tough weather.

<hr width=100% size=1>L.A.R.Ferguson

 

[AndCur]

Lots of good sea boats have u bolts for chain plates and provided they are well fitted with large supporting pads i cant see what the issue is. The plus side about u bolts is that toggles are not needed to keep the bottle screw straight.

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[jsl]

The highly-respected Nicholson 35 has U-bolts. They have only occasionally given problems, I believe. You could find out more by searching in their group-chat area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/campernicholson/message/2497.

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[dickh]

Lots of boats have U Bolts, but must have substantial backing pads BUT make sure you remove one of them to check for crevice corrosion on the shank hidden by the deck. I accidently sheared off one of the nuts on one of mine when I tried to tighten it to cure a potential deck leak. When removed completely, BOTH shanks had serious corrosion - and when the others were removed, they also were corroded. I replaced them with WICHARD U Bolts which were the same hole centres but one size up.
This was on a Jaguar 27 of 1974 vintage, and may be due to the quality of the U Bolts at the time; and that the shanks had been turned down from 5/16" to 1/4" diameter for the nuts(they don't seem to make them like that today).
For how long it takes to check, well worth it for peace of mind.
I believe some Westerly models had a problem when the U Bolts were not aligned with the shroud - see their website for more details.

<hr width=100% size=1>dickh
I'd rather be sailing... /forums/images/icons/smile.gif<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by dickh on 28/01/2004 09:08 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[barry1971]

I was instructed by my surveyor when I purchased my yacht ( Jeanneau Aquila ) to draw the U bolts and examine for corrosion. I drew the first one at the weekend and found it to be pristine, so instead of drawing them all I am intending to draw 1 a year to keep the insurance company happy. The yacht was built in 1980 so I would presume that the fittings were of pretty good quality when originally fitted.

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[ex-Gladys]

...I'm surprised your Surveyor was surprised... Perhaps you should question his experience a little more?

<hr width=100% size=1>Larry Botheras

Anderson 26 "Amber"

 

[Avocet]

Mine has "U" bolts for all 6 shrouds and the forestay. The shroud "U" bolts are all positioned to coincide with the internal bulkheads and I reckon you could lift the boat out of the water on any pair of them! The boat itself is 1972 but I think they must have been replaced since then because the threads are metric. I agree with the idea of drawing a sample fastener every season though.

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[LeonF]

He is an exemplary surveyor and I would never use anyone else. He has saved me from making an expensive mistake on previous occasions. He said that he would be happy to sail her in the North Sea but would hesitate to take her across the Atlantic with extensive downwind sailing. He supervised the refit of a Nicholson 35 that was about to circumnavigate and insisted on steel chainplates. The owners reached the Azores and told him they were the only boat there without chainplate problems. I've noticed many boats that are considered seaworthy have u-bolts but wondered what the consensus of opinion might be. I suppose it is like all the tales of smokers who lived to 96 and never got lung cancer--- if you want to be belt and braces then perhaps one wold try and change them. I shall live with them and monitor them until I decide to cross the pond if ever.

<hr width=100% size=1>L.A.R.Ferguson