How bad does this bowsprit look? CD28

[Ron M.]

Many early CD bowsprits, including mine, where originally made from ash which looks similar to oak. Somewhat lighter in weight and comparable in strength.
I replaced mine with quarter sawn white oak and stained it teak. Laminated 10 1"x 1-1/2" pieces (cant recall exact length, about 50").
4, 3/8" stainless threaded rods spaced accordingly along it's width.
White oak is fairly rot resistant, strong, (exterior door thresholds) and probably half the cost of teak.
Use the old one as a pattern.
Maybe take an adult ed. wood shop class - this wood be a good project !

[tjr818]

Maybe take an adult ed. wood shop class - this wood be a good project !

Adult ed classes are a great way to get access to all the tools you need for any project.

[Northoceanbeach]

Ok, so git rot can't be squirted in the bad spot aft and repair it?

I have a lot of sailing season left. I have to get on this right away.

Ok, so since the backing plate looks good, I understand the process is like this:

Stabilize mast with halyard to two bow cleats
Remove six bungs
Remove six bolts from anchor locker
Use mallet and wood wedges to break sprit adhesive from deck
Take old sprit to lumber yard
Get new sprit cut at wood shop
Replace

What are these bronze rods I have going throughout someone mentioned? I see four bungs on the sides but only on the back. Not throughout the whole sprit.

[joemerchant]

Rot is cancer. Regardless of how far it goes now, it has compromised the wood. Delamination is questionable about gluing/repairing, but rot... There is a guy on EBay who sells very good quality of teak for a really decent price in strips. Glue the strips together and drill through the sides bolt and laminate like original Cape Dory for about $200 and elbow grease.

I am not a fan of a solid piece for Cape Dory's that do not use thick stock and laminated is actually stronger and less likely to warp over the years.

I am not sure what is on there now, but whoever painted it, only did it to hide what was there, which is why painted sprits are always suspect.

The job is not a killer, just take your time and admire your handywork when finished. Wish I had the before shot, but just got through with mine.

[Northoceanbeach]

Well, some new friends in the harbor that now about wood and have a small wood shop and saws found a piece of mohagany 43 x 14. My current sprit is 44 x 9.5. Amazingly enough both planks are 1 13/16 inches thick. This sounds good.

I'm planning to keep the 9.5" width and the 43" long.

I will cut the front flat and put a small bow roller at the very front and a chain holder pin between the roller and the hause pipe.

Hopefully it is easy to get the existing board off.

Does anyone have any pictures or links to a pictures of the forestay/bobstay fitting taken off? Is it just the six bolts holding them together or is there a cut in the wood there where they fit together. Looking at the bottom is looks like that pic that that attaches the bobstay may go through.

How does this sound for a simple but safe new bowsprit?

[hilbert]

Does anyone have any pictures or links to a pictures of the forestay/bobstay fitting taken off? Is it just the six bolts holding them together or is there a cut in the wood there where they fit together.

It will be necessary to cut a slot for the stemhead fitting:

[Northoceanbeach]

Awesome thanks! That's very helpful. That's what I thought it looked like. All in all if I replicate the sprit it doesn't look like the worlds most complicated sprit.

Thanks for posting those two photos. Exactly what I needed.