This bulletin board, hosted by the CDSOA, Inc., is the on-line meeting place for all Cape Dory owners and groups. We welcome everyone's questions, answers and comments about Cape Dory sailboat
I posted a question recently about removing the anchor roller from the bowsprit on my CD28. Got some good advice but none of the boats were just like mine. The roller is set into a notch which is cut into the sprit toward the starboard side. I wanted to sand and finish the area in this notch. So I popped out the teak bung to see how the shaft the roller rides on was mounted. (Now I need a bung cutter for 1 1/8" at $40. Splitting that with a friend who wants to rebuild the bowsprit on his boat. Maybe I can sell 1 1/8 bungs on the Internet.
I found what appears to be a bronze shaft which is driven through a hole in the sprit passing through the starboard side of teak, then through the roller and then into, but not through, the port side of the teak. So I can't drive the pin through as some boats can. If I saw the roller and the bronze shaft in half, then how do I extract the part left buried in the port side teak. If I can get it out where do I find a new bronze pin. Maybe I should have left it alone? Any thoughts or experience out there?
Jerry Hammernik
Lion's Paw
CD28 #341
Well, this project just grew a bit I guess. It appears that you have the same exact arrangement that I have on our CD30. The shaft is buried on one side..I suspect that they just slapped on another layer of teak over the shaft end.
I guess what I woud be investigating is drilling a mating hole from the port side, which would expose the rod end, allowing it to be driven out. Then you could replace it with a new bronze rod..even add some teak to make the sprit wider so that it accepts a double bow roller arrangement for dual anchors on the bow. Or..just leave it alone, and replace the bung. Painting teak, especially in the area behind the rollers, is not going to be easy. Perhaps a piece of cloth wetted with varnish could be pulled through the slot between the roller and the sprit. Careful about getting the varnish on the shaft of the bow roller. Once done, this area should be able to be left alone for 10 years.
Good Luck,
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
CD30
Jerry Hammernik wrote: I posted a question recently about removing the anchor roller from the bowsprit on my CD28. Got some good advice but none of the boats were just like mine. The roller is set into a notch which is cut into the sprit toward the starboard side. I wanted to sand and finish the area in this notch. So I popped out the teak bung to see how the shaft the roller rides on was mounted. (Now I need a bung cutter for 1 1/8" at $40. Splitting that with a friend who wants to rebuild the bowsprit on his boat. Maybe I can sell 1 1/8 bungs on the Internet.
I found what appears to be a bronze shaft which is driven through a hole in the sprit passing through the starboard side of teak, then through the roller and then into, but not through, the port side of the teak. So I can't drive the pin through as some boats can. If I saw the roller and the bronze shaft in half, then how do I extract the part left buried in the port side teak. If I can get it out where do I find a new bronze pin. Maybe I should have left it alone? Any thoughts or experience out there?
Jerry Hammernik
Lion's Paw
CD28 #341
This is the same arrangement on my CD30 and I managed to remove it and replaced the bow roller with the captured version Spartan Marine sells. It was not easy to remove the original assembly. I ended up cutting through both sides of the shaft, pulling out the roller and then using a drill bit, grinding out what remained of the shaft assembly on the starboard side. I basically drilled a buch of pilot holes around the shaft until I was able to remove it. I think I was able to just pull out the port side shaft remnant but to tell you the truth, I don't remember. I cleand everything up. Installed the new assembly and then put a new plug on the starboard side. It looks pretty good.
You might try drilling a small hole in the end of the shaft, and using a screw extractor to grab the bronze shaft. If the shaft is big enough, you might even drill and tap for a 10-24 machine screw, and make a little puller with a long bolt, a couple of nuts, and a plate larger than the bung hole with a hole in the middle for the machine screw to pass through. If you need the mechanical advantage to extract the entire shaft, use a piece of 1 1/2" pipe with an end cap - drill a hole in the end cap, and use a piece of threaded rod instead of the machine screw.
Jerry Hammernik wrote: I posted a question recently about removing the anchor roller from the bowsprit on my CD28. Got some good advice but none of the boats were just like mine. The roller is set into a notch which is cut into the sprit toward the starboard side. I wanted to sand and finish the area in this notch. So I popped out the teak bung to see how the shaft the roller rides on was mounted. (Now I need a bung cutter for 1 1/8" at $40. Splitting that with a friend who wants to rebuild the bowsprit on his boat. Maybe I can sell 1 1/8 bungs on the Internet.
I found what appears to be a bronze shaft which is driven through a hole in the sprit passing through the starboard side of teak, then through the roller and then into, but not through, the port side of the teak. So I can't drive the pin through as some boats can. If I saw the roller and the bronze shaft in half, then how do I extract the part left buried in the port side teak. If I can get it out where do I find a new bronze pin. Maybe I should have left it alone? Any thoughts or experience out there?
Jerry Hammernik
Lion's Paw
CD28 #341
Well, you can't say we didn't warn you! If you're sacrificing the roller, you can just cut it off with a hacksaw. Once the metal pin is exposed you grab it with a vise grip and then whack the pliers with a hammer. Grab it near the port side and drive it toward the outside. It comes out pretty easily once you get it moving. If you've got the usual rubber roller they're less than $ 10 last time I looked. I had a bronze roller turned down by the local machine shop when I replaced mine. I also went to a through-shaft so I could drive it out if I ever had to do this again.
You can make yourself a bung with a disc sander or a belt sander and a small piece of teak. Mark the diameter you want on the teak and then sand it down to size. You can also turn down a block of teak in a wood lathe and then slice it into bungs on your table saw like slicing baloney. You can also buy a hole saw for your drill press which is cheaper than a plug cutter. And my final suggestion - find out what the boatyard would charge to put the bung in for you. Probably less than $40 and you'll likely lose the $40 plug cutter by the time you'd need it again anyway. Chances are you don't have the proper slick to cut off a bung that size either. You probably know that plugs don't come in the length you need. You drive them in place and then cut them off with a slick (special chisel) and sand them down. If you're not tooled up sometimes it's cheaper to hire things done. JMHO
I like Duncan's idea of tapping and threading the center of the pin though if you have a tap. You'd be able to use the threads again in the future if you ever needed to pull the pin again.
There must be an idea here for you somewhere. Let us know what you finally do and as always -- Good Luck!
If you're sacrificing the roller, you can just cut it off with a hacksaw. Once the metal pin is exposed you grab it with a vise grip and then whack the pliers with a hammer. Grab it near the port side and drive it toward the outside. It comes out pretty easily once you get it moving. If you've got the usual rubber roller they're less than $ 10 last time I looked. I had a bronze roller turned down by the local machine shop when I replaced mine. I also went to a through-shaft so I could drive it out if I ever had to do this again.