Roverhi,

After removing all of our chain plates and doing a through inspection, I am convinced that the one chain plate that went bad, was caused by a flaw in the original SS stock. I believe this due to the area and propagation of the crack/corrosion. There are photos up the thread of them and the failure. Our pates are on the outside of the boat and there was little or no sealant in the area of the flaw.

I am familiar with and use both LifeCaulk and Butyl. Just do not plan on using it here. I do admit that some of my preference for Dolphinite starts with the ease of use and clean up. Beyond that the viscosity of Dol is quite a bit lower than either LC or Bu. So, when I bed using the Dol and torque the nuts, I wait 24 to 48 hours to check/re-torque the nuts. At that time I am confident that the Dol has spread out and reached it's final thickness. With LC or Bu, I would need to do the re-torque another 2 or 3 times, 24 to 48 hours apart, to insure that I have what I expect to be the final fit. The other plus side of Dol is that it was used when our boat was built (about 35 years ago) and to date, the ONLY leak we have had was from a port that I redid and did not use the Dol. My fault, I know, but still sets my mind on this track.

And, after doing the job, I found it is easier than I had thought it would be (ONLY applies to our boat!), so in a few years I can remove, check and rotate the chain plates 180 degrees horizontally.

AND, as you can see from photos, our Guenever, like us, are sort of, “old school”.

Never the less, thanks for the suggestions.

Greg