lining chain locker

I have a steel boat (38 feet). It is a newish boat and the inside is covered in thick foam - pretty solid but obviously not up to taking any fixings. I need to line the chain locker and glass fibre seems the obvious material. I have thought of cutting thin plywood to shape and placing it position to line the locker and then glassing the joints together and building up glass mat until it is strong enough to take chain falling into it. Is this a sound idea?

 

I'm not an expert by any means on this, but I would probably build this with 1/2" plywood and then epoxy/fiberglass with one layer of cloth on the outside and a few layers on the inside for impact resistance. My first thought was why not steel if it is for a steel deck and hull since you could probably build it outside and then put it in place (removing a little foam for the attachment points). But I suppose noise might be an issue. I do wonder if heavy roving or heavy cloth would be better than mat for the top layer(s) because they would be less brittle and not tend to have fibers which chip off as easily?

 

I would build a box of plywood, 'glass it for strength & waterproofing,fit a drain spigot in it (anchor rodes always drip & you don't want a pool of fetid water in your forepeak) and then place a grate made of teak or oak in the bottom to take the abuse of the chain and to allow drainage & air circulation. Make sure you install a strong fastening point for the bitter end of the rode.

 

To me, the fiberglass and or a wood liner would not be a good idea. The chain locker is going to be wet and abused by the chain. Either wood or fiberglass will loose any water tight properties that it had when you installed it and then you will have water trapped between the steel and the liner.
After reading 2 differant opnions on cement and steel, I posted a question on another site. It seems that in the chemical process that produces rust on steel, there is a thin carbolic acid layer. Cement being made with lime will acually prevent this process. Several people contacted me about cement lined water tanks on there boats that were still like new after 20 years.

When I get to the point on my boat where you are, my plans are to fill in little places between frame and hull plate with cement and then paint. I will have to inspect and repair where there was no cement over the steel every so often, but I will be able to see any rust starting before it becomes serious.

 

Water tanks

I have a steel boat in constant use as a home and now with the ability to travel. However, my tanks are not big enough and I plan to build new ones out of steel. I was going to have these galvanised until a friend mentioned lining with cement. I have no knowledge of either the process or success of this method, although it sounds a sensible option, can anybody out there help me out?

 

HDPE boards would be excellent. Fiberglass/epoxy will not take the repeated abuse from a chain.

 

DO NOT install a strong fastening for the bitter end!! The bitter end should just be secured to a small padeye with a few wraps of tarred marline. This is just to hold the bitter end to the bulkhead so the chain won't wrap and foul. You should never load the bitter end, that's what wildcat and chain stopper is for.

If the chain ever runs away, the last thing you need is to rip out the bulkhead and try to drag it up through the chain hawse. I've seen photos of the result and it is not pretty. Better to let the bitter end slip.....Oh yeah....if the chain should start to run away, RUN from the foredeck when the red shots start comming up!!

 

I'm thinking that maybe cover the mat with epoxy with a ten percent grahpite powder in it - to resist most of the scratching?

 

It depends on the access to the chain locker. If it is from the forepeak and there is no bulkhead then a glassed ply box with a drain either overboard or to the bilge is a perfectly good solution. But the box must be removable and should be fixed loosely in place with a restraining bar across the aft end and supported on a decent frame. You can pack it in place with some closed cell foam to stop any clunking in heavy weather.

I have used polyurethane sealant over epoxy paint about 5mm thick to line steel anchor chain boxes to good effect.

Cement wash
This is simply cement mixed to a thick paste with water and painted directly onto the steel. Try it with an egg-cup full. There are many bilges in old steel boats kept sweet this way. As a coating it is very tough. However the result does react with chlorine in reticulated city water and imparts a mild cement tast to the water that some people do not like. All ships water tanks used to be coated this way.

The best lining is a surface tolerant epoxy followed by a propriety mastic water tank paint often produced for lining water pipes too.
In Austrlia we use CSR Emmastack. It is cheap totally non-toxic and when applied thick lasts for decades.


The alkaline in the cement also stops the sulphating bacteria

 

If the size of your chain will fit, try a milk crate. This idea came as I was storing a log chain today. There was an old milk crate on the barn floor and I threw the chain it it. These crates are tough, open to let water pass, and resistant to chemicals. And after a few years when it broke you could simply slide in a new crate. A milk crate sitting in a custom glass enclosure could protect the glass/resin at the bottom of the chute.

Yes, I have been welding again. Fumes fumes fumes