The inner forestay is attached to a SS fitting that is bolted to the bow. Four 1/2" bolts go through the cap rail and hull/deck joint. There was no backing plate to distribute the load and water was leaking around the bolts. We removed the fitting to take a closer look. The fitting appears to be in good condition. There are no signs of crevice corrosion along the welds. However, the inner forestay was attached to the aft hole on the tang. It should be on the forward hole. The bolts will be replaced with 316 SS hex head bolts. Machine screws 4" long are not easily available.

There was leaking around the bolts. Fortunately there was no core in this area. Still we over drilled the holes to clean them out and then filled them with epoxy to seal the multiple layers of laminate and wood. We also cleaned up enough space inside where the bolts come through to at least use washers. (The two most forward bolts had none.)