Bronze Alloy for Chainplates

[Donal]

Aaron,

I have a boatful of PTF bronze. Rebuilding the boat, we decided that we had saved enough on do-it-yourself to splurge on bronze, including the chainplates for our 38 ft Buehler design.

I watched a number of boats go through three boatyards that cost around $14,000 just to paint the already smooth fiberglass hulls. And I’ve seen riggers charge the same fees and far more to replace SS chainplates.

We paid a couple hundred dollars to paint our own hull with George Kirby Jr paint and think between bronze and paint, we spent the money wisely.

Besides, it makes the heart go pitter-patter just looking at the boat: both hull and bronze.

One beauty of bronze (that you are about to find out) is that it can be worked by amateur without specialized equipment.

donal

[honkinsailor]

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know that I wound up using the 3/8" Aluminum Bronze to fabricate my chainplates and it was a breeze. Took maybe four or five hours to do all ten, including polishing. The material is very strong and makes the boat look much better, I think!

You can see all the photos of our ongoing renovation at:

Deck Renovation/Rerigging

There is also a photo of the chainplates attached to this message.

Thanks for your help!
Aaron N.