Bow Sprite Replacement Project

[John Stone]

I agree in terms of durability and resistance to rot teak and iroko are very similar. In terms of value for your money iroko gives you a lot of bang for the buck. But nothing has the fragrance of teak, its oily texture, or its resistance to oil stains When left bare. And no wood I have come across glows like teak under a dozen coats of spar varnish. In fact, visually speaking, IMO, iroko is better left bare as it often has yellow streaks that require prolonged exposure to UV to dissipate. But, as was pointed out, teak has just become impossibly expensive for most of us.

[tjr818]

I still have a few teak 1x6 boards in the eight foot range complete e with price tags - $29.00 each. Today at Rockler teak was selling for $29.99/bd.ft. I save the teak for special projects only. I wish I would have invested in teak, it has done better than my 401k.

[Jim Walsh]

I still have a few teak 1x6 boards in the eight foot range complete e with price tags - $29.00 each. Today at Rockler teak was selling for $29.99/bd.ft. I save the teak for special projects only. I wish I would have invested in teak, it has done better than my 401k.

Would that we were all prescient when it comes to investing.
I'm willing to wager teak will continue to be prized and the plantation teak will never hold a candle to the old growth teak of the recent past. The beautifully figured old growth teak which was once readily available will continue to be controlled at the state level and it will only adorn the yachts of the rich and powerful.

[Steve Laume]

I agree in terms of durability and resistance to rot teak and iroko are very similar. In terms of value for your money iroko gives you a lot of bang for the buck. But nothing has the fragrance of teak, its oily texture, or its resistance to oil stains When left bare. And no wood I have come across glows like teak under a dozen coats of spar varnish. In fact, visually speaking, IMO, iroko is better left bare as it often has yellow streaks that require prolonged exposure to UV to dissipate. But, as was pointed out, teak has just become impossibly expensive for most of us.

And if you are going to coat it with Cetol, in any flavor, those subtleties are lost, Steve.

[Keith]

Well it's been quite a while since I last posted any updates. I launched on May 7th and all of the work was completed before then. Just been to busy sailing!!

So here is the bow support system that I went with. 1/2 inch FR-4 actually significantly stronger then the 1/4 steel. I bolted and epoxied the two pieces together then layed in more glass on both sides of the joint. The structure was then glassed into the bottom of the deck and front section of the V. You can also see the bolts that come through the deck and new teak bow sprit.

bow support.JPG (97.48 KiB) Viewed 354 times

Here is the deck after all the old material was cleaned off (5200 I think) It was a lot of work and notice that it actually took off some of the gel coat.

bow deck.JPG (103.51 KiB) Viewed 354 times

Here is the bow sprit. I added 1 foot to the length so that I could get the asymmetrical spinnaker out in front of the bow rail. I also added a second bow roller.

spinnaker.JPG (94.88 KiB) Viewed 354 times

I can actually now fly 4 sails at once, asymmetrical, yankee, staysail and main.

It will only let me post 3 pics at a time so see next post for the 4 sails flying.

[Keith]

Here is the 4 sails pic

4 sails.JPG (93.01 KiB) Viewed 354 times

[chelininger]

Here bow support removal/replacement photos taken from CD 28 #214 part 1

[chelininger]

Here photos of the CD28 #214 bow support removal/replacement part 2