The first step was removing the old broken bowsprit. This included removal of the Headstay, forestay, Whisker stays, bobstay, bow pulpit, old caulk, fiberglass, and all associated hardware/fittings. The removal was done in one day.

This picture shows the port side radial crack that circles around underneath.

Starboard side with continuation of crack from other side and additional longitudinal breakage. Also, caulk removed.

This is the deck end with one of the bronze bolts removed. This section was tabbed in with glass. It was pretty easy to remove by running along the seam with a chisel and mallet.

The douglas fir that I ordered from http://www.easycreeklumber.com Keith sells excellent lumber and has great customer service. The lumber arrived in rough sawn form, so I took over to a local woodworker fellow and planed down the sides that we were going to glue together. We mixed up some West system epoxy and wet the surfaces first. Then mixed up another batch with 403 filler added. Then we clamped the heck out of it, as shown above. I let it cure for the weekend and then took this piece to a local wood turning shop to have the tapered end made for me.

This is the old next to the finished new bowsprit. I had to do a bit of finish work after getting it back from the wood turner. I had to taper the square sides down to meet the size of the old one, make the tongue cutout, cut and finish sand the nose to fit the end cap. After that work was done, I sealed the whole piece with Smiths penetrating epoxy. Awesome stuff!

This shows the rot that we discovered on the end of the old bowsprit Sitka is not known for good rot resistance. Which is one of the many reasons that we chose Douglas fir for the new one.

This is what it should look like.

The prepared opening. Also showing part of the rig that I used to hold up the mast while all this is going on.

Prepared deck area. Paint sanded off and holes filled.

Samson post prepared.

New bowsprit installed, with cap on as well.

The other side. I used the clamps to hold it in position while the polysulfide cured.
 

Deck area after install. How do you like my line clamp? The bungees worked pretty good too!

Fiberglass and epoxy is done.

I made a nice big fillet to the samson post for water run off.

The new fitting in place on the  dolphin striker.

Striker fitting in place forward view.

Forward rigging is done.

Rigging cranze iron area.

Statsail stay top side.

Staysail stay bottom side. This area had the holes couterbored previously, to accept large washers and hide the bolts. This was another contributor to the cracked bowsprit. So this time around I made a small backing plate, to spread the load a bit more from the staysail. Also, NO counterbored holes!

A coat of primer has been applied.

Primer coat.

Eileen has put the first coat of varnish on.

This shows the plastic collars that I bedded to the bowsprit. The original setup had lag screws going into the wood, and everytime someone walked on it or we set the anchor, it would torque the holes and the wood. The Plastic collars allow the bowpulpit to float without causing extra strain on the wood. The aft end of course is bolted as it always has been to the stainless plate that goes through the stem.

I had to cut the legs down on the mounting feet and have them welded back on at the correct angle. You can see that the plastic collars are bedded with Dolphinite. Standard fare for bedding to wood.

This shows the fancy lashings that I came up with. It also protects the plastic from some of the UV. So far we haven't had any trouble with this setup. We have always used our snubber setup once the anchor is set anyway, so there isn't any stress on the pulpit..

This shows the root of all evil!
The top fitting is obviously the new one that I designed and the bottom one is the old bronze cast unit from Cheoy Lee.
Contact Mark Hockett if you'd like to have a new fitting made for your boat

Mark Hockett
Island Tech Enterprises
Clinton, WA
mahockett@yahoo.com
360-914-6026


Mark has agreed to make these fittings for Cheoy Lee owners on a fixed rate basis:
$350 - Bronze (billet)
$400 - 316L Stainless (billet) 
plus shipping cost to your location.

If you would like to try to get local quotes, you can download a pdf of the part drawing here:
Jamie's redesigned Dolphin Striker Drawing
(Some geometry not shown to scale)

If you have questions about the design. Please give me call or send me an email.
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