[C320-list] Rebedding

[Jeff Church]

Sandy,

I thought that I posted this somewhere on the C320 site last year. Maybe not. 


Rebedding Chain Plates

 

  1.. Move your cushions far away from the big mess you are about to make, and place some rags or an old towel under the work area. 
  2.. Remove the shroud.  
  3.. Remove the strut. Remember the sequence and position of the spacer and washers at the bottom of the strut. Mark the spacer so you know which side is up. A crows-foot socket makes loosening (and tightening) the nuts on the bottom of the strut a little easier. The strut holds a bit of tension between the deck and the beam that is built into the liner. Notice how many turns it takes before the upper nut on the bottom of the strut comes loose and releases that tension. This will help when you reinstall and re-tension the strut. Typically the nut will come loose after about 1 1/2 turns. 
  4.. Remove the 4 Phillips head thru-bolts. The threads may be galled so you might need to purchase new ones, 1/4 x 20 x 1.5". 
  5.. Remove the tang that the shroud attaches to (step on it). 
  6.. Mask the deck around the trim plate so clean-up after caulking is a little easier. 
  7.. Pry the trim plate off of the deck. 
  8.. The hole in the deck is larger than the tang and is filled with caulk. Clean out all of the old caulk. 
  9.. If the deck has any exposed wooden core, clean out any rotten wood, let the core dry and fill the void with an appropriate filler. 
  10.. Clean the tang, deck, and cabin liner surfaces with a razor scraper, gasket scraper, Dremel tool, wire brush or any other suitable tool, and wipe them down with acetone. 
  11.. Use a chamfering bit to lightly chamfer the screw holes and a file to chamfer the larger hole. 
  12.. Install the tang without the trim plate. Temporarily install the 4 bolts to position the tang. You don't need to use any caulk on the underside of the tang. If the topside is sealed there doesn't seem to be any purpose to sealing the bottom. If the topside seal breaks, caulk on the underside might keep some water out of the boat, but it might also mask the problem while your deck rots. 
  13.. Fill the space around the tang with Boat Life's Life-Calk and let it cure overnight. Life-Calk is available in caulk gun tubes which are easier to use than the smaller squeeze tubes when filling a large area. 
  14.. Trim the dried caulk around the tang so that it is flush with the deck. 
  15.. Remove the 4 bolts. 
  16.. Put a heavy bead of caulk around the tang. 
  17.. Put some caulk in each bolt hole. 
  18.. Put a bead of caulk on the deck around each bolt hole. 
  19.. Carefully place the trim plate in position. Use a couple of bolts to align it as you press it down firmly and force the caulk up between the plate and the tang. 
  20.. Put some caulk under the head of each bolt and push the bolts into the holes while pulling up on the tang. Don't push the tang down and ruin the seal. 
  21.. Tighten the 4 bolts. It would help to have someone on hand to assist with this step but it can be managed without assistance. 
  22.. Clean up the caulk and remove the tape. 
  23.. Attach the strut. Hand tighten the upper nut until snug, and then use a wrench to tighten it approximately another 1 1/2 turns.
  24.. Attach the shroud. 
JeffC

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sandy Olson 
  To: C320-List 
  Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 5:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [C320-list] Rebedding


  To rebed the chain plates do you unscrew the four machine screws on the deck 
  and just lift up the stainless flashing?

  Sandy #466