ExtensiveWood rot was discovered in the bowsprit. Clearly the boat needed a complete new bowsprit, either made of wood like the existing one, or perhaps metal. The spar was a tapered lamination of nine sections glued together. It measured nine feet six inches long, eight inches square at the heel, and five inches square at the crance iron.
A new bowsprit needed to be the same outward shape and size as the existing spar, so that all fittings would bolt back in the same place. I therefore designed a box section with a vertical central spine all the way along the inside. This formed an ‘I’ (eye) beam that is a well known section for stiffness in both bending and compression.
I decided to have the new bowsprit made in aluminum and I gave the job to Twin City Welding in St Cloud, near Orlando. David Lucey, the owner, had done small jobs for me before and I knew the excellent quality of their welding. They also stocked the sheets and were very familiar with the welding characteristics of 6061. Another advantage was that they could start the job almost immediately. I therefore decided not to remove the old bowsprit until the new one arrived.
The two sides were then welded to the top and bottom to complete the box section. This resulted in a very stiff spar and after it had been powder coated it looked magnificent in its new dark blue livery, to match the other spars. The new bowsprit arrived exactly two weeks from placing the order and weighed 96 lbs., I was 2 lbs. out in my calculation.
The heel plate on the end of the bowsprit isremovable to reach through to bolt it to the two Samson posts. (bitts). with two 3/8” inch holes in the bottom near the heel plate to drain any water that might find its way into the interior.
After installing the new bowsprit it was was tested by disconnecting the jib and staysail stays, and only the bobstay and shrouds attached to the crance iron. The 60 lbs CQR was hooked under the large marina dock-beam directly below.
The chain ws tensioed with the windlass that never moved on its mount. This hauled the bow downwards and the bobstay bracket disappeared under water. A second touch on the windlass hauled the bow down further and the chain became bar tight. Amazingly, the bobstay also remained taught, that would have gone slack if there had been any bending in the bowsprit. Another touch on the windlass button resulted in ominous groans from the dock timbers, so I quickly measured the drop then slacked it all off. The bowsprit had been dragged down 7” inches. Hauling a beamy boat like Britannia down this far imposed some impressive loads on the bowsprit, but there was no evidence of movement or paint chipping anywhere along the new bowsprit.
