Bowsprit Repair
This is always a journey. I'm not complaining (much) its part of the job description. While a beatiful clear grain douglas fir replacement for the original bowsprit was built about 15 years ago rot developed in the butt end. At first I idnored it but eventually I couldnt help myself. As you will see the project scope will expand.
This was only the start and I was hopeful a solution could be spliced in place. Well, I did say hopeful, since then...
Its all about pace. A little bit each day ad the work will be done well. I've found a shipwright to do the work. The repair will be made by splicing about two feet replacing the damaged wood. In the meantime I will move foward to return the the anchor platform to its original design.
While the custom bow rollers worked reasonably well they were bolted directly through the deck and cap rail. They were massive. Over 92lbs pushing the bow of the boat down. It was a solution for a broken bow platform.
The original platform was designed for two 45lb CQR anchors. While the newer custom arangement was used for 66lb Bruce and a 55lb Spade anchor (bit of overkill).
I like the Spade anchor. It works well. The Bruce was more than I can physically manage and a 45lb CQR is now the secondary anchor.
So, while the bowsprit is being repaired, I will be making a new bow platform. It will be plastic (HDPE) rather than teak. It is a practicle solution and the trim will be corrected.
Deck repairs were then made. The bolt holes in the deck were cleaned out, dryed and filled with epoxy.
In the meantime some news on the bow sprit repair: carpenter bees had made home.
Making and fitting the bow platform was more difficult than I expected. Doing this by hand vs a CNC machine resulted in irregularities. Then finding the best place to mount the anchor rollers is difficult.
All the hardware installed and on the way back to the boat.
