LM28 stemhead fitting backing bracket

[Phil]

I was cleaning out the anchor locker on my LM 28 today and poked my head right down into it to inspect the underside of the stemhead fitting - an area that I had not previously inspected. I was very shocked to see that the reinforcing bracket that spreads the load from the stemhead down into the hull was extremely corroded, having clearly been fabricated from mild steel rather than stainless steel - not a good idea when the anchor locker is continually wet with salt water!

Did my boat receive a 'rogue' bracket when it was built or have others experienced the same problem?

I suppose the clues were there in that over recent years I have continually had a rust stain spreading down the stem from the anchor locker drain hole.

As far a I can tell, the bracket is a strip that extends not quite to the bottom of the anchor locker and has two cross pieces welded to it - the whole lot being bonded to the inside of the stem.

Anyone else had this problem?

Phil

[soren]

Hello Phil


You are right it's not stainless steel, but some kind of galvanized metal, I went to my harbour today and took a couple of pictures.
On all 3 boats they are a little corroded but I think they look okay, bearing in mind that they are around 30years old.

How does it look on your boat?

Søren







LM 26 1983 (my boat,I think I need a little cleaning :-)



LM 28 1985 (a friends boat)



LM 28 1986

[Phil]

Hello Soren
I am not sure how to post a picture onto this forum so I will email one to you. Mine is much, much worse with hardly any metal left. My boat was also built in 1985 but perhaps the galvanising was faulty.

The solution that I plan is to remove the visible part of the rusty bracket but leave the bonded-in part in place. I will then have a 'pad-eye' made to fit the bolts that stick down from the stem fitting. I will then drill straight through the stem of the boat where the bonded-in cross pieces go across the vertical piece and mount another pad-eye internally, bolted through the stem of the boat with a polished stainless backing plate on the outside. The combination of bolting through the original metalwork (which shouldn't be corroded where it is bonded in) and an outside backing plate should make this a very strong repair. Once the pad-eyes are in place then I will have a tie rod made to the correct length to join them. It will all be in stainless and I don't think it will be too difficult to do.

I had been thinking about fitting a 'top down furling' cruising chute but this will require a short bowsprit to clear the navigation light fitting. One advantage of the repair is that I can incorporate an eye on the outside backing plate to attach a bobstay for the bowsprit!

We are off in the morning for a few days cruising and so I will be keeping my fingers crossed that the winds stay light, now that I know my forestay is only attached to the deck and not the hull!!
Regards
Phil

[soren]

Here is your picture so that other members can se it:



You are right it doesn't look good, there are 11 LM26/28 in the harbor here in Kolding where I live I will ask the owners if any of them have experienced the problem on there boats.

Søren