Hole in Bowsprit

[SV Someday Came]

I have been working in my bowsprit. The fiberglass work under the sprit is proceeding nicely. However, since the teak cap on the mahogony sprit was cracked in several places, I decided to remove the cap myself, then hire a woodworker to set a new cap in place. He is to cut holes in the teak cap to match the existing holes in the mahogony for the Sampson post towards the aft end of the sprit and cut holes for the windlass in the middle section of the sprit. When I took the cap off, a couple of problems became apparent. First, there are several holes that are just there and I am not sure what their purpose was. However, the main issue is the starboard forward hole for the windlass. (not the neat circular chain hole that is just aft). The starboard forward hole is large -- clearly there was an issue here, for the wood was rotten and decayed. In fact there is a "rivulet" of decay that runs right to that hole. To make matters a little worse, the hole is not uniform through the wood -- the rot flares out like a bell near the bottom of the hole. Most of the really bad wood fell out during the removal of the cap and I did remove a little more of the loose punky stuff.

My questions are these:
1. Should I leave the regular smaller consistent holes alone and let the fiberglass seal the holes from the bottom and the teak cap seal the holes from the top? Or should I put something in the holes themselves?

2. How do I fix the larger starboard forward hole? That is where one of the bolts from the windlass is anchored, thus the hole has to be made smaller so I can get a bolt through to the chain locker in the V -Berth.


Thanks

Michael

[rtbates]

you're not intending to replace the entire bowsprit? The picture may be deceiving, but it looks pretty much shot.

Good luck with your repair..

[psteele235]

I agree - replace it and don't worry whether your 'fix' will hold, or not.

[mike d.]

IF YOU DON'T REPLACE THE WHOLE THING NOW YOU WILL WISH YOU DID LATER AT THE WRONG TIME!!!!!!

Agreed. If you were in need of a dockside fix to get you by, I would suggest a scarf, but I would not count on that as a permenant repair for this structural item. The wood is much cheaper than the cost of a failure.

[SV Someday Came]

ok, so far all say to replace it. Couple of reasons why I decided not to go that route is (1) I agree the *surface* of the mahogony looks shot, but it looks chewed only because the teak cap was well-laminated to the mahogony. The only place of actual wood damage is in that starboard aft hole. The rest of the wood is solid. Hence, all the teak is in tiny splinters -- it was a bear to get the teak off. (2) replacing the sprit is thousands of dollars. So.... since I thought that one area could be repaired, I did not think it necessary (or even prudent) to replace the whole structure.

But.... since folks here say I need to replace the entire structure, then obviously I need to reconsider my initial thinking.


Michael

If someone is telling you thousands of dollars, I would hope that means they are taking it and giving it back turn key. The wood will not be that expensive, the labor is nothing beyond time consuming. I would think you coud get this done allot more reasonably than thousands.

[SV Someday Came]

Actually, Scott suggested a while back that I simply replace the sprit -- and I recently thought after a close examination that a repair would suffice.

Be that as it may, does the boat need to go to a yard to prevent the mast from falling down while I remove the forestay and bob stay?

Michael

No. You can use your halyards to secure it to forward cleats for this operation. If you have measurements, I have a big chunk of Mahogany that might work. If not, I may be able to locate what you need. I am in the LA area quite often, and would be happy to bring it down next trip.

[svHyLyte]

Michael--

Just for the heck of it figure out your maximum dimensions and then put a call in to Richard Colletti at Standard Structures (Glulam, I-Joist, Open Web Truss from Standard Structures Inc. home page in Windsor (near Santa Rosa) at (707)836-8100. Tell him iI suggested you call and ask if he has any off-cits of exterior glu-lams that could be cut down to match the existing bowsprit. Odds are they do and, if so, they can mill it to your spec's (tell him you need the laminations vertical!) for very little money. (If they can't/won't you could do that yourself easily anyway. You just need something with the right maximum nominal dimensions.) They can ship it to you with one of the loads they regularly send down to SoCal or, you could drive up and pick it up yourself in 2 daze, which would be a good excuse to visit wine country! With a couple of coats of epoxy; and a cap plate to match the original, you'd have a bowsprit to joust with!

Cheers,

s/v HyLyte