I did a similar process with the PO. It lasted about 10 years then started leaking a small amount. The caulking had hardened and was not sealing well against the chain plate. The caulking came away from the SS easily, was a job scraping it away from the deck.
I tried a marine silicon based sealant the next time, never sealed that well. Third time I used Bed-It Butyl ( thanks Ed for splitting an order ). Much easier and has sealed perfectly. I like being able to lift the plate, check / move / add butyl if required. That may be one of the few spots were there is appreciable movement that the caulking has to deal with, and staying stuck to SS is tough. Michael Brown Windburn C&C 30-1 From: RANDY <randy.staff...@comcast.net> Thanks Josh, and Danny, and Mike. Dennis C. is out here in Colorado from Louisiana for a few weeks to do some skiing, so he gave me some free consulting today (well, I did take him to the local Cajun joint the other week and buy him a po'boy and a couple beers, which was the least I could do). Anyway Dennis looked at my chainplate cutouts today and we made a plan of attack for the job, which basically amounts to a re-seal: dig out an inch of core around the cutouts, fill with thickened epoxy (with the chainplates in place), then re-seal. Of course that's a summarization and there is some devil in the details, and I appreciate all of your tips. But that should be sufficient to prevent any further water intrusion into the core. I'm not having any deck strength issues. I'll post some pics of during and after the project. Thanks again Dennis! Cheers, Randy
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