You guys are far better welders than I am. Here is what I did, right or wrong.
Our 44’er has an 8’ sprit, 5’ over hang and 3’ in the
deck. The origional (1985 build) was mild
steel I think. It rusted through right where the
anchor laid closest to it. That’s typical I think, any place two different metals come close you can get corrossion. Anyway, I cut it off. It was filled with some kind of weird material, almost like diatamatious earth. Light and fluffy. Not a clue what it was but presume it was meant to be a
corrosion inhibitor.
The original sprit was 4”x4”x1/4” box section. It had no whiskers, just a straight stick. The
teak platform and pulpit was wobbly as all get out. The
anchor shanks came up through slots in the
teak near the stem and always fouled the bob stay up or down.
I replace the sprit with 316 4”x4”x1/4” as original. However I added whiskers (2”x2”x1/4”) along the edge of the teak platform, solidly welded to the
hull and the sprit. I moved the anchors forward and
outboard so I could fit big new next gen anchors with their hoops. The bow rollers came out a little low but I adjusted by adding some starboard chafe guard for the chain, works a treat, like a second roller.
The platform and pulpit are now really steady making a great
work platform. The anchors go up and down without fuss.
I fugure that whatever I
lost in THEORETICAL strength I made up in adding the whiskers and by having greater confidence the damn thing won’t rust out again. Sure mild steel is stronger, but when you figure in losses due to
corrosion, not so much.
It’s been a few years now and I’m happy with my
work. All mig welded, fabrication in my basement then welded in place in a
DIY yard.
I also added a 1/2” attachment at the cut
water for an additional big shackel down there.