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Glite Dictionary
chainplate

chainplate

1 9.2
A metal plate on a boat that holds the ropes that support the mast
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃeɪnˌpleɪt/
  • Specialized
: placa de cadena
  • The chainplate was securely fastened to the deck, holding the rigging in place.

Examples

  • Nothing to do then except bring her back up, move the chainplate up out of the water, and repair the spot that it had been in.

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  • When they finally floated her, the boot stripe and the bobstay chainplate would be completely underwater.

    Blog text (20)

  • And then what if they installed the bobstay chainplate at the end of the boot stripe like the drawing showed?

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  • You can see that the bobstay chainplate is fitted just above the mystery stripe and also just above the mystery repair.

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  • The bobstay chainplate was on its forward end, and you can see that the cockpit drain outlets (white circles) were sitting right in the middle of the boot stripe at the aft end of the boat.

    Blog text (20)

  • Before sailing, make sure the chainplate is free of rust and firmly attached.

  • The sailor inspected the chainplate to ensure it could handle the tension of the sails.

Surface Forms

chainplate singular
chainplates plural

Morphology

chainplate = chain + plate (transparent) = chain + plate

The term is a straightforward technical compound: a plate associated with or used for attaching chains/rigging.

Etymology

Chainplate is made of chain and plate, where chain means 'linked rings' and plate means 'a flat piece of metal'. So a chainplate is the flat metal plate on a boat where the ropes or wires that hold the mast are attached.