What's So Bad About the Bowsprit ?

[Butterman]

Originally Posted by markpierce

There's no need to be forgiven. ... yes, most marinas will want to know your overall length, including the sprit and any outboard rudder, and not just length over deck. .. Racing handicap rules are very complicated and are a very different issue. No doubt sprits are/were a common way to "game" the racing measurement rules.

So, I was correct in assuming that a bowsprit is disadvantageous in that it adds LOA without adding internal volume?

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Butterman

So, I was correct in assuming that a bowsprit is disadvantageous in that it adds LOA without adding internal volume?

I would guess that the answer depends on your perspective, if the boat in question is basically a dock queen then yes the bowsprit is a disadvantage, however if the boat was designed with one, and if one is into sailing then no, it is not a disadvantage.

[Butterman]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

I would guess that the answer depends on your perspective, if the boat in question is basically a dock queen then yes the bowsprit is a disadvantage, however if the boat was designed with one, and if one is into sailing then no, it is not a disadvantage.

Right, of course. I simply meant that a sprit could be a disadvantage in the specific way that I mentioned. I do see the advantages as well, I was merely pointing out one disadvantage, as I saw it.

[zeehag]

i have yet to find disadvantages--here length is that which is documentation length, which ignores the sprit completely.
and so my new one will be mexican huanacaxtle /perota/ipe.....
as for bobstay sawing, hah ah aha-- funny how mine never sawed into my lines-- the single line when contacting bobstay, actually pushes boat away from it. i used 2 lines on my formosa to mooring tag chain, and i used different chain links for each one. no problem., yeah there is noise of ball vs hull-- and with a sprit, one is able to place a bungee cord to keep ball off boat. works great.
as for sail-- my genoa is my driving AND steering sail. is about a 150, unable to be used without sprit. it has gotten me 3 kts under sail without mizzen, which adds another knot to 1.5 kts in a nice breeze--the likes of which makes you all cower and return to marina slip.
as for pitching--merely learn how to properly load trim a boat.
donot place heavy weights abaft mizzen or before main masts--keep it centralized for smooth sailing.
i stow my secondary anchor secured to mainmast on deck when sailing, with its chain in my cockpit well or below decks stowed in a bin until use. ye donot need to sail with both primary and secondary anchors rigged for immediate use.
at anchor i place th e secondary and its chain forward of mainmast to keep my bows down in a windy anchorage--keeps dragging anchor less of a possibility

[builder dan]

I sail my boat a lot and my bowsprit is my turbocharger if I want to go a knot faster I just unfurl the sail.I have a solent rig so both headsails are the same size usually just sail with the inner sail out but if I want to pass someone out she comes.

[Pelagic]

When you have an integral bowsprit built in steel, as well as separating the sail plan, it offers a nice neat way to pocket the Anchor underneath.

[boatman61]

To be honest I've been considering adding a bowsprit to my boat.. moving the forestay up and having the inner stay (removable masthead) to where the forestay currently sits and having either a furling drifter or yankee up front with a No1 jib on the inner.
She's a heavy boat at 27,000lbs (39ft steel) and needs around 20kts to get her going over 5kts so some help would be nice.. huge main in the tradition of the 70's.. would it work..??
She has a short kinda sprit for the anchors but was thinking maybe another 3ft extending past there.. but part of me thinks the inner would be to close for effective aerodynamics.
Maybe go cutter instead..??
PS; the bathing platform is actually an extension of the hull and extends the w/line

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by boatman61

To be honest I've been considering adding a bowsprit to my boat.. moving the forestay up and having the inner stay (removable masthead) to where the forestay currently sits and having either a furling drifter or yankee up front with a No1 jib on the inner.
She's a heavy boat at 27,000lbs (39ft steel) and needs around 20kts to get her going over 5kts so some help would be nice.. huge main in the tradition of the 70's.. would it work..??
She has a short kinda sprit for the anchors but was thinking maybe another 3ft extending past there.. but part of me thinks the inner would be to close for effective aerodynamics.
Maybe go cutter instead..??
PS; the bathing platform is actually an extension of the hull and extends the w/line

sweetheart, your rig is one mast shy of being a real boat.ha ha ha ha ha
i find my genoa , placed on outermost end of sprit is a good driving sail. it is essentially a 150 percenter with a length away from boat enough to be a real sail h aha ha imagine that. coupled with my 14.5 ft mizzenboom on a 40.9 ft overall (plus sprit)boat, it works.
so all you need, phil, is a sprit and a good, realistically sized mizzen-- bent onto about 14.5 feet of boom, and sail a lot faster--mebbe even get up to hull speed in a decent wind~~~

[hpeer]

We have bowsprit a on both boats.

The 33 was built with and without the sprit. Ted Brewer told me it really needs the sprit

The 44 was originally a ketch design redone by Alan Pape as a cutter for this build. My take is the long 5' sprit is needed to give this 40,000# hull the drive it needs. It also means the inner is quite big.

So that's the deal. A sprit is used when you don't have enough sail area to drive a heavy hull. I think of our boat as a 44' hull with a 50' sailplan for light winds. Using the inner she has a 42' sailplan for heavy wind.

[Cheechako]

I always think of a bowsprit as extra hull length a boat could have had, more carrying capacity and faster speed. .... and the sprit having more complication with fittings, cables etc.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by zeehag

sweetheart, your rig is one mast shy of being a real boat.ha ha ha ha ha
i find my genoa , placed on outermost end of sprit is a good driving sail. it is essentially a 150 percenter with a length away from boat enough to be a real sail h aha ha imagine that. coupled with my 14.5 ft mizzenboom on a 40.9 ft overall (plus sprit)boat, it works.
so all you need, phil, is a sprit and a good, realistically sized mizzen-- bent onto about 14.5 feet of boom, and sail a lot faster--mebbe even get up to hull speed in a decent wind~~~

Zee.. I'd have to make her a yawl.. not enough room in the cockpit for a mast..
Then I'd lose my solar panels..

[Lojanica]

My only comment re: bowsprits is they can never be too big. Size matters...

[cpt_757]

[UNCIVILIZED]

I can see the value of small sprits (2' or less) for anchor handling, & to tack a light air sail to. But otherwise... Sprit's are a lot of added cost. $ which could have easily financed several extra feet of hull. Quite easily so.

That hull equals more speed, more room for cargo or living space. More deck space, especially for sail & anchor handling. It's lower maintence than are sprits with all of their rigging. And hulls tend to fair better in encounters with pilings, & such.

Sprits have both side stays, & bobstays to get maimed by said real estate arguments. Or when just laying along side. Since on some boats the aft ends of side stays protrude quite a bit away from the hull.
Also, in collisions, it's common for them to become entangled in whatever was run into, thus creating lots of 2ndary damage.

Plus, if the boat gets stuck to the collided object or 2nd vessel, then you can't start to resolve the situation until after you've freed your vessel. Which, doing that is a hands on operation, & can be dicey, & dangerous.

Bobstay fittings are continually immersed, as are their fasteners, which leads to... "you know" (metal rot). And stems need special construction for bobstay attachments. So more $.

Also, given that they're commonly wooden, guess what can happen to sprits? And the grates, rigging, & pullpits attached to them with fasteners invite yet more rot. The structural type, given their penetration depth.

Plus sprits raise your moorage fees, though you can't live in that billed for space.

So most days I'd far prefer the waterline.

[SSgtPitt]

Originally Posted by clausont

This is exactly the reason that I just replaced the short bowsprit with one that brings the rig up to design specs.
You can see both the old bowsprit and new one on our blog.

Checked your profile but can't find your blog. I did find your pictures but the boat in your pics doesn't look like it has a bowsprit. Can you update?