Advice re Rusty Steel Plate near Transom & Chainplate CD30C

[matteo20021]

Hi there, hope you're all well and safe...

My name is Matteo and I am new to the forum, so please forgive me if there is an existing conversation on this topic that I may have missed.

I've recently bought a 1979 CD 30C "Portal" (Hull 110) that a friend of mine sailed from LA to Australia in 2013. I'm very new to sailing, just starting to learn, and when I was looking into buying a boat a friend told me about how much she loved Portal and how solid she was built, so I thought that she may have been the one.

Between 2014 and 2019, Portal hasn't been sailed much from the previous owner, so when I bought her I started off with a few projects (install new head, replaced old bowsprit, repower currently undergoing) and still a lot of them ahead. The dream is to get myself and her ready and confident enough to set sail with my dog towards New Zealand.

I'm very enthusiastic and keen to get her in very good shape. I trying to prioritize seaworthiness over esthetic and at the moment there are 2 main things that concern me quite a bit

1) Rusted chainplates, discovered after I just re-rigged her (I know, I know stupid mistake)

I know various owners have undertaken this project but I am not sure if this is something I am ready for now and it can't really wait a little bit, maybe next year once in NZ. I've attached a couple of pics below of my chainplates and it would be great to hear your opinions I am especially keen to understand if anyone knows of de masting on a Cape Dory due to chainplate failure? Yes, they are rusty but my understanding is that they were over-engineered.

2) Rusted support steel plate under the cockpit. I am not too sure how to call it and not sure if this is specific to the 30C but I have a pretty big u shaped (upside down) mild steel bar near the transom accessible from the cockpit lockers. It looks like the bottom of it has been fiberglassed in the hull and I believe its function is to provide extra strength and support to the 2 sides of the hull.

This part, as you can see from the pic, is rusted pretty badly. I am not pretty sure what would be the best thing to do about it and if it might be a really structural part (or maybe not). As a novice, I guess the first step would be understanding its function. Wondering if anyone can shed some light on this and maybe have come across the same issue already and addressed it?

Please go easy on me if the above questions may sound really a no brainer for most of you, this is all very new to me...reading at posts in the forum looks like there's a lot of knowledge there and so many of you have undertaken different projects so I'm hoping someone may be able to help.

Thank you

[Keith]

Hi Matteo and welcome to the CD club,

I also have a 1979 CD30C #134.

#1 Rusted chain plates - since there aren't any pictures of them I don't know how bad they are but what I can tell you is that when I replaced my bow sprit I also replaced the steel support (search bow sprit replacement) others have documented as well. Anyway My support was quite rusted maybe 50% material loss in some areas but was still incredibly strong. So depending on the condition of yours maybe just apply some rust inhibitor and paint for now.

#2 Rusted cockpit supports - I believe that these are aftermarket as mine does not have them so I would not worry about them. Again maybe just apply rust inhibitor and paint. What I would check is the aft chain plate condition.

Hope this helps.

Keith

[Keith]

Hi Mateo,

Here is the pic of the rudder shaft stuffing box. I just replaced the hose before launch this year.

rudder shaft stuffing box.jpg (93.44 KiB) Viewed 440 times

Keith

[John Stone]

Hi there, hope you're all well and safe...

My name is Matteo and I am new to the forum, so please forgive me if there is an existing conversation on this topic that I may have missed.

I've recently bought a 1979 CD 30C "Portal" (Hull 110) that a friend of mine sailed from LA to Australia in 2013. I'm very new to sailing, just starting to learn, and when I was looking into buying a boat a friend told me about how much she loved Portal and how solid she was built, so I thought that she may have been the one.

Between 2014 and 2019, Portal hasn't been sailed much from the previous owner, so when I bought her I started off with a few projects (install new head, replaced old bowsprit, repower currently undergoing) and still a lot of them ahead. The dream is to get myself and her ready and confident enough to set sail with my dog towards New Zealand.

I'm very enthusiastic and keen to get her in very good shape. I trying to prioritize seaworthiness over esthetic and at the moment there are 2 main things that concern me quite a bit

1) Rusted chainplates, discovered after I just re-rigged her (I know, I know stupid mistake)

I know various owners have undertaken this project but I am not sure if this is something I am ready for now and it can't really wait a little bit, maybe next year once in NZ. I've attached a couple of pics below of my chainplates and it would be great to hear your opinions I am especially keen to understand if anyone knows of de masting on a Cape Dory due to chainplate failure? Yes, they are rusty but my understanding is that they were over-engineered.

2) Rusted support steel plate under the cockpit. I am not too sure how to call it and not sure if this is specific to the 30C but I have a pretty big u shaped (upside down) mild steel bar near the transom accessible from the cockpit lockers. It looks like the bottom of it has been fiberglassed in the hull and I believe its function is to provide extra strength and support to the 2 sides of the hull.

This part, as you can see from the pic, is rusted pretty badly. I am not pretty sure what would be the best thing to do about it and if it might be a really structural part (or maybe not). As a novice, I guess the first step would be understanding its function. Wondering if anyone can shed some light on this and maybe have come across the same issue already and addressed it?

Please go easy on me if the above questions may sound really a no brainer for most of you, this is all very new to me...reading at posts in the forum looks like there's a lot of knowledge there and so many of you have undertaken different projects so I'm hoping someone may be able to help.

Thank you

Hi Mateo,
Congratulation on your new to you CD 30. It’s a fine boat. I don’t have one but I do have a 36. And I have gutted her to a bare hull and brought her back to life so I can tell you they are well made and anything an be fixed by a thoughtful owner if you do your homework, you are patient, and you have a wise plan.

I don’t know what that rusted bracket is under your cockpit. Can you ask the guy you bought it from what he knows about it? Can you track down any of the previous owners?

Is your boat a tiller boat or a wheel steering boat?

If you can make some sketches and give us a better idea of its position then I bet we can figure it out.

My instincts tell me it’s a cockpit floor support of some kind. My immediate reaction is to cut the thing out as it doesn’t belong there. But maybe it was installed to address some issue—perhaps some other damage or some kind of worry or anxiety the PO had.

Rusted chainplates. There no way to tell you what to do on this. You need to provide better pictures with some distant vice just close up perspective.

Sailing from OZ to NZ is no place to have a boat that’s not prepared for the worst that can happen. You might make it across the Tasman Sea with mild conditions or get flattened. So get your boat right before you even think about it. Keeping the rig up, the rudder on, the the water out, and the crew aboard is paramount to a safe voyage. The CD 30 is a great boat and more than up to the task but only if you have her in good form.

Happy to comment further on your project if you can provide more details. BTW, there are some great CD 30 sailors on the forum who have tremendous knowledge of these boats. There is one that just crossed the North Atlantic this time last year and she is sailing in European waters now I believe. I think the boat name is Olive Oyle...or something like that. I bet you can reach out to them as they did a lot of work on their boat getting her ready.

Happy sailing.