Bowsprit off

[S/V AMITY]

Got the bowsprit off.  What a job!  Total of 14 bolts.  Skinnying up inside the chain locker to remove the nuts & washers was not easy but we got them all off.  Pearson must've had a child on staff to get up in there...

Bowsprit was bedded in silicone so prying it loose took some jimmying and heat application to finally break it loose.  No rot found so all that needs to be done is stripping 40 years of varnish & Cetol off and it'll be ready for refinishing.  Will be using Awlwood. Have heard good reports about it's durability.

Aluminum fitting at the end of the bowsprit for the anchor chain rollers was removed. Since it is pretty ratty will have Schaefer duplicate it in stainless.  Headstay chain plate is off as well and looks good but will have it professionally inspected for soundness.  Cheers!

[S/V AMITY]

  Bowsprit after 9 coats of Awlwood and fitted with new S.S. bow roller.  Ready for installation when the cover comes off AMITY in April.

[SVJourney]

Consider reinforcing the platform with a stainless strut from the roller bracket down to the stem of the hull.  The platform was underbuilt in the first place.  The front half of mine, including the roller assy, is at the bottom of Hiva Oa harbor where it snapped off on anchor lift.
Yours looks absolutely beautiful, hate to see it broken.

[S/V AMITY]

Bowsprit has a strut.  Very beefy.  May add whisker stays to add lateral support.

[S/V Legacy]

I like the strut. Do you have a ballpark figure on what it cost to build? I've looked at mine several times and thought... " if i ever have to pull the anchor in any kind of heavy chop, I'm going to break it off before i can get the anchor on the boat". I've had thoughts of reinforcing it with stainless strapping along the sides and between some of the teak slats, then through bolting with stainless all thread. Even with that I feel will bend and distort under a larger load. Maybe its stronger than I'm giving it credit for.

[S/V AMITY]

  Have no history on AMITY's bowsprit strut.  My hunch is that the first owner ordered as an option from Pearson.  It is quite heavy and is competently fabricated and fastened.  More pictures attached.

[SVJourney]

Maybe its stronger than I'm giving it credit for.

Nope!  Trust me, its not.  And I'm not the only one who snapped it off while pulling up anchor.

[S/V Deo Volente]

I had a strut made that served for many years. It worked fine for the vertical loads but a few years ago there was a storm that hit us with some 80 mph winds with wildly changing directions. The strut failed in the heavy side loading. Fortunately I was able to get underway before ending up on the beach. A new anchor sprit was made using 1 inch G10 encased in teak. I have no concerns about the sprit's strength now. Attached are the pictures of the original, and the replacement.

[S/V AMITY]

  Will be adding whisker stays to mine. 

[SVJourney]

Bob, I can't believe how polished all that stainless is!  Even the chain gypsy is high gloss.

[S/V Deo Volente]

Bob, I can't believe how polished all that stainless is!  Even the chain gypsy is high gloss.

It has been in fresh water the last 28 years,the only way stainless lives up to its name.

[S/V AMITY]

I'll second Journey on that... the new 'sprit looks great!

[Sailingmaple]

Beautiful work!

[S/V AMITY]

Done.

[jpendoley]

Beautiful!  Does the platform have support on the underside?