Practical Sailor just (last 2 or 3 issues) did a 'feature' on
chainplates. They quoted Dave Gerr extensively, and what I took away
from the article is there's a tremenous ammount of stress placed on
these attachment points, where 'stronger' is almost always 'better'.

See:http://www.practical-sailor.com/pub/...es/5075-1.html

for the opening paragraphs of the article.

Typically on boat of your vintage, the cainplate(s) would be bolted to
a bulkhead or a 'knee' or 'chainplate web' of 1"-2" wood. The bulkhead
/ knee would be 'tabed' into the side of the hull with multiple layers
of glass, and the stainless steel chainplate (at 1/4" thick X perhaps
12-14" long X perhaps 1.5" wide) would be bolted 4 or 5 times to this
member.

Schaefer Marine has a line of such chainplates; find the tab at:

http://www.schaefermarine.com/hardware.asp

Too, these guys may be able to answer specific questions...

http://www.rigrite.com/Hardware/Chai...%20Chainplates

MW
Los Angeles