composite chainplates

[asdf777]

I just recently discovered for myself carbon fiber and was amazed to learn that its tensile strength is 500 ksi, which is 4 times as much as titanium.

People seem to have been making composite chainplates for a while now with high density foam with a metal thimble on top, and uni-directional carbon fiber around it.





I can't actually think of any disadvantages of this approach either for new chainplates or replacing old ones on a fiberglass boat. If you can make it yourself, the cost of the material is going to be several times cheaper than metal, while these chainplates should distribute the load much better, and be leak proof.

Am I missing something? Maybe epoxy bonding strength to the hull is not adequate unless the chainplate is integrated into the hull? Is there a way to calculate epoxy bonding strength?

Thanks,
Gleb