chain plate change

going to the boat I expected her bilge to be overflowing due to the stern gland leak. I would give that 56 pumps or more and move on to fitting a new ladder which I picked up from the post office on the way. will I never learn?

I boarded from the surf ski tender, with buckets of tools and my new ladder, with no problems. compared to my previous effort just after Christmas it was a firm 8. my last was a dismal 3, my balance, coordination and flexibility were all crap. marvellous what morning exercises and sensible eating will do. 
the news on board vegan better. the bilge needed only five pumps. tick, next job. ah, fit the ladder. I bought 8 x 6mm x 50mm bolts on the way. drill, too, bolt up and voila. not so fast there sailor. the configuration was for a vertical mount! I got myself into a Rubik's cube mental knot trying to cone up with a solution. no go, I'd need more coffee and time to think it through, at home. 
then I started tinkering with the port side chainplates. the lower shroud looked OK, but the capshroud looked rough; corrosion and damage to a handmade eye-plate below decks. When shortening the bolts with an angle grinder the fitting had been nearly severed. Tinker, tinker, next thing I'm replacing tgd whole shebang. I loses the shroud and pulled the u-bolt. It looked horribly rusty, ready to snap. Clean the holes, add goop, fit my homemade backing plate and bolt her up. Job's a goodun.
(The following morning: he original chain plate was cleaned up for reuse, but the photo shows corrosion to about 15%_thickness. The issue with stainless steel is that it snaps rather than rusts or bends, so failure is rapid.) 
Sometimes, just going aboard can be an adventure. 

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