Crack in Bowsprite

[Richard Formica]

Hi,
I have a longitudinal crack in my bowsprite. It appears to just a separation between two the boards and not a crack within an individual board. The yard told me this was not structural. That made sense but I am concerned about the crack allowing water in and causing rot. Therefore I thought I would inject West System Epoxy into the crack to seal it. Does this sound like an OK idea? My concern was, not having a lot of experience with epoxy, it might expand and make the crack worse.
Thanks,
rich

[Larry DeMers]

Rich,

Which boat do you have? I would rather pull the wood back together rather than inserting epoxy only. The pieces are held together with threaded rods going through the bowsprit side to side. There will be a plug over the bolts which will have to be drilled out first. Using a bit of epoxy in the crack first however, would be a good idea. More than probably, the wood has dried out and shrunk a little, pulling apart.

Cheers,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30

Hi,
I have a longitudinal crack in my bowsprite. It appears to just a separation between two the boards and not a crack within an individual board. The yard told me this was not structural. That made sense but I am concerned about the crack allowing water in and causing rot. Therefore I thought I would inject West System Epoxy into the crack to seal it. Does this sound like an OK idea? My concern was, not having a lot of experience with epoxy, it might expand and make the crack worse.
Thanks,
rich

demers@sgi.com

[Mike Thorpe]

I agree with Larry, the crack is probally a result of the wood (teak) shrinking over time. Especially if it has been allowed to weather and turn grey. I had the same situation on my CD-36 and solved it by filling the crack with epoxy. In my case I mixed the epoxy with some teak sawdust untill I got a peanut butter like consistency. It makes it easier to work with and it provides a better color match than straight epoxy.

good luck,
Mike
CD-36 Journey's End

Hi,
I have a longitudinal crack in my bowsprite. It appears to just a separation between two the boards and not a crack within an individual board. The yard told me this was not structural. That made sense but I am concerned about the crack allowing water in and causing rot. Therefore I thought I would inject West System Epoxy into the crack to seal it. Does this sound like an OK idea? My concern was, not having a lot of experience with epoxy, it might expand and make the crack worse.
Thanks,
rich

mthorpe@capecod.net

[Olli Wendelin]

Rich,

Describe your bowsprit. Is it laminated or one piece? Is it oak or teak? Is it throughbolted? You can tell this because there will be 1-1/4" plugs covering the nuts. Is the crack anywhere near the headstay fitting or bow rollers.

I built a new one last year out of laminated teak using west system epoxy. Worked well. You can use the epoxy for filling cracks if you use a filler such as their microbubbles or powdered teak.

Olli Wendelin
BLUE MOON
Charleston, SC



wendelin@spawar.navy.mil

[Richard Formica]

Thanks for the advice. I have a 1980 36. I the bowsprite is made of multiple strips. I assumed these were oak. They are through bolted on approximately six inch centers. The crack is along the line separatin two strips. Now that you mention it, it seems like wood shinking. It is located down near the windlass.

I remember, maybe a couple of years back now, a discussion about the oak bowsprites and how they would get rot at the base where it was bedded to the deck. I want to avoid the problem if possible. BTW, is rebuild of a bowsprite expense. I remember the post on how to do it yourself. That seemed beyond my skill.
Thanks again for the help.
rich



Hi,

I have a longitudinal crack in my bowsprite. It appears to just a separation between two the boards and not a crack within an individual board. The yard told me this was not structural. That made sense but I am concerned about the crack allowing water in and causing rot. Therefore I thought I would inject West System Epoxy into the crack to seal it. Does this sound like an OK idea? My concern was, not having a lot of experience with epoxy, it might expand and make the crack worse.
Thanks,
rich

[Larry DeMers]

If it is oak, then the picture changes a little. Oak is a great wood, but it does rot, and I have personally seen 2 oak sprits that rotted out and needed to be rebuilt of teak. The guy on one CD30 replaced his with Stainless steel. Ugly little contraption..
The teak would cost a bit, but it is laminated into place, and that takes smaller widths of teak to accomplish.

Realize that your rig depends on the sprit for support. It is under a bit of tension, so you want that piece to be solid as the rest of the boat.

Perhaps if this is beyond your capabilities or experience, you could involve a local carpenter? I would not suggest taking it to the marina shop unless they have a wood person.

Sources for teak lumber are dwindling, but I still can get decent 1x6 teak boards from Defender (believe it or not). There are some dedicated compapnies that carry a good selection of teak stock..look in the back of the sail mags, or check the Good Old Boat resource site at goodoldboat.com .

Good Luck..

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30

Thanks for the advice. I have a 1980 36. I the bowsprite is made of multiple strips. I assumed these were oak. They are through bolted on approximately six inch centers. The crack is along the line separatin two strips. Now that you mention it, it seems like wood shinking. It is located down near the windlass.

I remember, maybe a couple of years back now, a discussion about the oak bowsprites and how they would get rot at the base where it was bedded to the deck. I want to avoid the problem if possible. BTW, is rebuild of a bowsprite expense. I remember the post on how to do it yourself. That seemed beyond my skill.
Thanks again for the help.
rich



Hi,

I have a longitudinal crack in my bowsprite. It appears to just a separation between two the boards and not a crack within an individual board. The yard told me this was not structural. That made sense but I am concerned about the crack allowing water in and causing rot. Therefore I thought I would inject West System Epoxy into the crack to seal it. Does this sound like an OK idea? My concern was, not having a lot of experience with epoxy, it might expand and make the crack worse.
Thanks,
rich

demers@sgi.com

[Larry DeMers]

If it is oak, then the picture changes a little. Oak is a great wood, but it does rot, and I have personally seen 2 oak sprits that rotted out and needed to be rebuilt of teak. The guy on one CD30 replaced his with Stainless steel. Ugly little contraption..
The teak would cost a bit, but it is laminated into place, and that takes smaller widths of teak to accomplish.

Realize that your rig depends on the sprit for support. It is under a bit of tension, so you want that piece to be solid as the rest of the boat.

Perhaps if this is beyond your capabilities or experience, you could involve a local carpenter? I would not suggest taking it to the marina shop unless they have a wood person.

Sources for teak lumber are dwindling, but I still can get decent 1x6 teak boards from Defender (believe it or not). There are some dedicated compapnies that carry a good selection of teak stock..look in the back of the sail mags, or check the Good Old Boat resource site at goodoldboat.com .

Good Luck..

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30

Thanks for the advice. I have a 1980 36. I the bowsprite is made of multiple strips. I assumed these were oak. They are through bolted on approximately six inch centers. The crack is along the line separatin two strips. Now that you mention it, it seems like wood shinking. It is located down near the windlass.

I remember, maybe a couple of years back now, a discussion about the oak bowsprites and how they would get rot at the base where it was bedded to the deck. I want to avoid the problem if possible. BTW, is rebuild of a bowsprite expense. I remember the post on how to do it yourself. That seemed beyond my skill.
Thanks again for the help.
rich



Hi,

I have a longitudinal crack in my bowsprite. It appears to just a separation between two the boards and not a crack within an individual board. The yard told me this was not structural. That made sense but I am concerned about the crack allowing water in and causing rot. Therefore I thought I would inject West System Epoxy into the crack to seal it. Does this sound like an OK idea? My concern was, not having a lot of experience with epoxy, it might expand and make the crack worse.
Thanks,
rich

demers@sgi.com

[Olli Wendelin]

Richard

If that is the only damage I would fill with west system & microbubbles. My origional 23 year old bowsprit was solid oak. I had several small rotted areas on top and shrinkage cracks. I anticipated rot underneath so I removed it. I found that the only damage was on top, due to rainwater and lack of varnish. Underneath it was bedded with a sealant like lifecaulk, and had no damage at all.

Olli Wendelin
BLUE MOON
Charleston, SC



wendelin@spawar.navy.mil

[Ron Musk]

Thanks for the advice. I have a 1980 36. I the bowsprite is made of multiple strips. I assumed these were oak. They are through bolted on approximately six inch centers. The crack is along the line separatin two strips. Now that you mention it, it seems like wood shinking. It is located down near the windlass.

I remember, maybe a couple of years back now, a discussion about the oak bowsprites and how they would get rot at the base where it was bedded to the deck. I want to avoid the problem if possible. BTW, is rebuild of a bowsprite expense. I remember the post on how to do it yourself. That seemed beyond my skill.
Thanks again for the help.
rich



Hi,

I have a longitudinal crack in my bowsprite. It appears to just a separation between two the boards and not a crack within an individual board. The yard told me this was not structural. That made sense but I am concerned about the crack allowing water in and causing rot. Therefore I thought I would inject West System Epoxy into the crack to seal it. Does this sound like an OK idea? My concern was, not having a lot of experience with epoxy, it might expand and make the crack worse.
Thanks,
rich

Clean the check as best you can with isopropul alcohol before the epoxy repair.Most CD oak sprits were actually ash,and most had problems.
Ron Musk
s/v "R&R"
CD30