Mailport: August 2012

PS’s Save of the Day

The “Is Titanium an Everyman Metal” article (PS, December 2011) hung in my mind while we re-cored our wet deck. The cabinetry around the starboard chainplates was removed for the job, and I noticed the chainplates had tea-colored stains and crud similar to those pictured in the article.

A magnifying lens revealed a micro-crack on each side at deck level! The mast is 80 feet and shrouds are 3/4 inch, so basically, your article saved our butts.

BEFORE: Stainless chainplates

An Internet search showed that Allied was nearly double the best price I found, which was obtained at www.titanium.com in Cleveland, Ohio. (My advice to those buying titanium for chainplate fabrication is to not tell anyone the metal is for a boat.) We paid $202 per plate (each 0.5 x 2.5 x 24 inches) for Grade 5 material. Machining took 12 hours in the MAZAK NC mill by an experienced mill operator (and cost me four cases of beer). Cutting advice and parameters were easily found online. I did the polishing myself. I left the old plates at Torresen Marine for use in their rigging classes.

AFTER: Titanium chainplates

Capt. Mark Hoenke &

Capt. Lynn Hoenke

Roxy, 1983 Camper & Nicholson 58

Muskegon, Mich.

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