It's About Time

I can't believe that so much time has slipped by.

Needing to do some straightening and cleaning out, I delved into the dark recesses of our storage shed and found...  No, you probably didn't guess it.  Eolian's old bowsprit.  The one I removed in 2008, seven years ago.  SEVEN YEARS!

So, how do you dispose of a 10 foot long piece of partly rotten mahogany?

A symbolic act

Exactly.  You chainsaw it up into two foot long pieces, stack it up and burn it.  Stuffed in the bottom of the pile there you can also see the remains of the mizzen spreaders, which I also rebuilt, but just this last spring.  I really don't have a good explanation for why I kept the old bowsprit around so long.  But each time I looked at it over the years, I told myself, "I'll hang onto it a little longer, just in case."  Just in case what?  I have no idea - but somehow I felt that I was making a prudent decision to keep it a little longer.  No, I don't understand how my mind works either, but I have learned to live with it.

As it turns out, replacing the bowsprit couldn't have waited...  shouldn't have waited as long as it did.  When the saw dug into the last cut, two feet from the butt, a flurry of powder exploded out instead of chips.  There was not very much wood in there...

Not good

In fact, the rot had hollowed out the inside of the spar.  Frightening!  Despite this, there was very little evidence of the rot on the outside.  A sobering exposé for those whose boats have wooden spars (hopefully not made of mahogany, a terrible wood choice for outdoor service).

At this point, the only remaining unreplaced wooden spars on Eolian are the main spreaders, which I continue to inspect carefully every year, and to which I apply a fresh coat of paint as often as needed.  So far, there is no reason to replace them - they are as sound as when they were new.

It's About Time

Renewal = removal?

Looking back, sometimes it seems that our time on Eolian has been dominated by deinstalling things and hauling them off the boat, some large, some small, and some almost trivial.  Here's what I remember so far, over the 15 years that we have now been responsible for her care:

• I think the first think to go back in 1997 was a rusty  suspended metal three-basket set.  It was ugly beyond belief.
• Remove a whole host of corroded brass doodads that celebrated dolphins. 
• Remove another host of straw fabrications, presumably procured in Mexico and attached to various places with generous quantities of silicone
• Removed an ancient battery charger, and eventually the batteries that it ruined.
• Removed (and refurbished) the insulation of the refrigerator
• Removed and plugged the refrigerator opening that had been cut into the countertop, apparently by a drunken logger with a chainsaw that needed sharpening
• Removed (and replaced) the refrigerator door
• Removed (and replaced) the original stove/oven.  This was at least 20% by weight congealed grease
• Removed a 110V crash pump - a large 110V centrifugal pump.  In a situation that needed it, it was likely that the time spent getting it to prime would have allowed the water to rise up and drown the generator.  
• Removed (and replaced) 3 bronze head thru-hulls and associated leaking bronze tapered plug valves
• Removed (and replaced) the original bilge pump, installed when there was nothing else in the hull, apparently.  Spelunking skills were required.
• Removed a corroded and non-functional antenna tuner
• Removed an unbelievable quantity of "mystery wire" - wires that went nowhere and caused no end of difficulty in troubleshooting electrical problems.  At today's copper prices, I wish that I had saved it for recycling - I'd be rich.
• Removed (and replaced) the old bowsprit
• Removed (and replaced) the old inner forestay pad eye
• Removed  (and replaced) the old Benmar autopilot
• Removed the leaking fuel daytank
• Removed (and replaced) the refrigerator cooling water circulating pump
• Removed (and replaced) the holding tank
• Removed (and replaced) the bilge pump controls
• Removed (and replaced) the forward electrical distribution panel
• Removed two non-functional diesel filters
• Removed (and replaced) the stern lite
• Removed (and replaced) the masthead lite
• Removed (and replaced) the old microwave
• Removed (and replaced) the water heater
• Removed (and replaced) the corroded section at the foot of the mainmast
• Removed (and replaced) all the running rigging
• Removed (and replaced) the old cockpit canvas/bimini/dodger/side curtains
• Removed (and replaced) the old Groco heads
• Removed (and replaced) all the head plumbing
• Removed (and replaced) the exhaust elbow
• Removed (and replaced) the exhaust manifold
• Removed (and replaced) the alternator
• Removed (and replaced) all the original instrumentation (except windspeed/direction)
• Removed (and replaced) the original inverter
• Removed (and replaced) all the interior cushions and upholstery
• Removed (and rebuilt) all the cockpit cushions
• Removed (and replaced) the large fixed cabin windows
• Removed (and replaced) four of the eight opening ports
• Removed the original 110V space heaters
• Removed (and replaced) the original TV
• Removed (and replaced) the original VHF
• Removed the LORAN set (replaced with GPS)
• Removed the remains of the original airconditioning equipment
• Removed a non-functional oil change pump
• Removed (and replaced) the mizzenboom gooseneck fitting
• Removed all the original wood-grain formica
• Removed (and replaced) all the engine rubber hosing
• Removed (and replaced) the original fuel level senders
• Removed (and replaced) the original fresh water pressure pump
• Removed (and replaced) the original anchor wash-down pump

Woo boy.  I'm pretty sure that there's more, but the list is depressing enough as it is.  And there are investments that don't show up properly in the list, like a new bow lite, or a new inverter/charger.  Many of the removals above constituted their own projects which are documented elsewhere on this blog (you can search either by keyword or by label, over there on the right).

It seems that our waterline should have moved down...

Renewal = removal?

The Return of the Dolphin

1997

Long, long ago, Eolian used to have a figurehead:  a beautiful brass dolphin mounted between the bowsprit and the beakhead.  Unfortunately, he had to come off when we rebuilt the bowsprit.  And he has been languishing in the shop ever since.

Recently, however, the guilt I felt each time I had to move him on the workbench to make room for yet another project became overwhelming, and I made *the dolphin* the next project.

First I ran him over the buffing wheel.  This got the corroded sections cleaned up and made him gleam once again.

Next, he spent a few days hanging from the overhead handrail getting several fresh coats of varnish.

Now the interesting part begins.  He is held in place with two very long stainless lag bolts that pierce him and run into the beakhead and the bowsprit (he's metal - he cannot feel pain).  Of course, the hole in the beakhead is still there, but there is no hole in the new bowsprit.  And I won't just drive the lag bolt in there without at least a pilot hole.  So, how to get a pilot hole in the right place and at the right angle?

My answer was to mount him in place with the beakhead lag bolt.  Then, use an installer bit (this is a *really* long drill bit) to drill a pilot hole into the bowsprit, guided by drilling thru the holes in the top and the bottom of the dolphin.  Because I couldn't get a bit of the right size, I had to settle for a 1/8" bit - too small to act as a pilot hole for a 1/4" lag bolt.  But a great size to act as a pilot hole for the correct size conventional drill bit.  So after taking the dolphin down again, I enlarged the 1/8" hole to the proper size using a regular drill bit.  It was easy to keep it in alignment, since it wanted to follow the 1/8" pilot hole.

Next step:  rot protection of this penetration in the bowsprit.  I put a piece of tape over the hole, and used a hypodermic to inject "end cut solution" into the bore thru the tape, replenishing it as it soaked in.  This took a while.  And several beers.

Final step (well, final minus one): mount the dolphin.  To prevent seawater from getting inside the dolphin and into the bowsprit and beakhead, apply a liberal gob of white polysulphide around each of the holes in the dolphin.  Run the lag bolts in, but do not tighten them.

Wait a day for the polysulphide to cure.

Now go back and finish-tighten the bolts.  In this way, a rubber gasket is created from the polysulphide, and then compressed to make a seal which has the thickness to accommodate any relative movement of the bowsprit, dolphin and the beakhead.

2011

It's good to have him back, up there on the bow and guiding our way.

The Return of the Dolphin

Project: New Inner Forestay Padeye

Project from 2004 (before the bowsprit replacement of 2009)

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Crevice corrosion is nasty stuff.

When we first took possession of Eolian, the inner forestay padeye looked a little weird - like it was mounted incorrectly. The front edge was higher than the back edge. Over time, that "weirdness" became more pronounced, until it looked like this (once application after application of various types of caulking - mostly silicone - were removed). Obviously, something was going wrong here, and attention was required.

After the caulking removal, I found that the pad had two pieces of 1/2" stainless allthread welded to its underside. These penetrated thru the entire bowsprit and deck, and were provided with nuts against the underside of the deck. So, on the initial assumption that the forward nut had never been made up completely because of the extreme difficulty of reaching it, I spent perhaps 8 hours wedged into the chain locker, up in the very pointy end of the boat, mightily struggling with the nut (no, I do not suffer from claustrophobia). During the course of this time, I managed to turn it perhaps 2 full turns, which should have substantially reduced the gap on the exterior. In fact, there was NO CHANGE.

Unfortunate conclusion:

The reason the forward edge was lifted was that the forward rod was broken somewhere inside. Using a sawzall, I cut the rod off the bottom of the pad. Then in the now more easily accessible gap, I worked on cutting the rod at the rear of the pad.

I was unable to complete the aft cut tho, because the blade began digging into the wood of the bowsprit. So I decided to break the remaining portion of the aft rod. It was far easier than I had
anticipated... and in fact, it did not break at the cut I had made, but instead below it. After the pad was removed, it was easy to pick the end of the forward rod out of the hole.

Autopsy:

The forward rod, due to the design (the tension of the forestay is directed substantially aft), handles almost the entire load. Sometime in the 23 years previous to our purchase, the forward rod parted due to crevice corrosion. This left the entire load, in an extremely unfavorable position, on the aft rod. It was cracking, and had cracked nearly 2/3 of the way thru when I took the hammer to it.

Conclusion:

This was caught in time... just. It would have failed sometime when we had only the mizzen and the staysail flying, probably in 25+ knot winds. Then the staysail boom would have been flailing all over the bow, doing substantial damage and creating a very dangerous condition.

Further efforts in the chain locker revealed that the remaining portions of the allthread were NOT going to move. So, they were abandoned in place.

Remedy:

I designed a replacement pad, larger than the original. After fabrication, this was installed over the ends of the abandoned rods, bedded in a generous layer of polysulphide. It is held to the bowsprit with 4, 3/8" stainless hanger bolts (think: "lag studs"... that is, lag bolts, with the hex head cut off, and the shank threaded with machine threads), capped with acorn nuts. The 4, 3/8" bolts provide a greater bolt cross section than the original 2, 1/2" rods, and spread the load over a greater surface area and greater number of fasteners. The new pad is twice as wide as the old, providing a significantly better ability to resist the side loading that the sail puts on it.

Project: New Inner Forestay Padeye

The Dolphin

Tonight, Scott asked, "Where is the dolphin?"

I have to report that there was some corrosion where the bolts went thru him to hold him on the bowsprit and beakhead. He is brass, so he corrodes very quickly when the metal is bare. So he is still in the shop, awaiting time for me to strip the varnish off of him and recoat him. We miss him too, but getting him back on the bowsprit is a lower priority than other items.

The Dolphin

Weekend Report 5/17: Bowsprit Renewal

The job is complete - the deed is done.

After nine months of work, the bowsprit installation is complete.

No, I did not hire a kid to start the nuts on those impossible to reach bow pulpit mounting bolts - I brought some of my automitive tools aboard: a 3/8" rachet, two really long 3/8" extensions, a 3/8" universal joint, and a 9/16" deep socket. I put the nut in the socket, and taped a washer over it on the end of the socket. Then, with the extensions I had enough reach to get to the bolts, and the u-joint allowed me to turn the socket even tho I was not lined up with the bolt. Then back up on deck, I squirted generous quantities of polysulphide under the feet of the bow pulpit, and then Jane tightened the bolts while I went below again with my long extensions and kept the nuts from turning.

Then the rest of the weekend was spent on the remaining finishing touches:

• I borrowed a Loos tension gauge from Doug on Angelique and retensioned the rig
• We brought down the newly regalvanized anchor and put away the 300 feet of 3/8 chain and reinstalled the anchor
• We put away the 250 feet of 1" nylon rode in the port side, and added the 50 feet newly regalvanized chain leader.
• We reinstalled the staysail boom
• We bent on the yankee and the staysail
• CLEAN THE BOAT
• And in a completely unrelated task, I rebedded the port over the office desk - it had been seeping when it rained hard.

Finally, we took a couple of beers and drifted out in the waterway, hardly working, for the first time in months, as there was nothing hanging over our heads, It was a unique feeling - I actually felt guilty.

But then as we drifted past the stern, I glanced up and noticed that the triatic stay was loose, so the guilt feeling passed. I will tilt the mizzen masthead aft an inch or so tomorrow night. The whole rig is a little different.

Thus endeth the bowsprit renewal project

Weekend Report 5/17: Bowsprit Renewal

Weekend Report 5/9: Bowsprit Renewal

This weekend, we brought the refurbished windlass down to the boat. We used the jib halyard and the winch to hoist it from the dock cart onto the boat... Jane ran the winch and I ran the tagline. That sucker is heavy! We positioned it on its side on the edge of the stainless steel mounting plate, and I did the re-wiring, using the new wire entrance glands. Then I liberally coated the bottom edge with silicone, and stuck on the fiber-reinforced ABS isolator that I had previously made, keeping it lined up by sticking a couple of the mounting bolts in the windlass.

When the wiring was complete, we rolled it upright and into place. Jane kept the isolator on and guided the bolts into the holes in the stainless plate, while I supplied the bulk lifting. Then it was just a matter of putting the isolator washers under the bolt heads and tightening the nuts. Windlass installed!

Then, since there was still time, we used the halyard again and picked up the bow pulpit from its inverted resting place on the foredeck, where it stayed all winter with its skinny legs sticking up into the air like something dead. With some maneuvering, we got it into place, and I bolted it down to the bowsprit platform. I know it is hard to pick out in the busy picture above, but trust me, there is now a bow pulpit!

Now I have to hire a little kid or a midget to get the nuts started on the last 4 bolts, which penetrate the bulwark, too far forward for me to wedge even my svelte body to reach.

Weekend Report 5/9: Bowsprit Renewal

OK, I admit that I was whining yesterday

The weather man seemd to have it in for us - tempting us with a favorable forecast, and then once we were committed, dashing our hopes. And so I moped around all day yesterday, feeling quite put upon. You'll recall that the NOAA forecast was for rain for the foreseeable future.

Well, we awoke this morning to bright sunshine and calm winds, despite rain and wind all night long. It was so unexpected, I actually thought for a moment that I was still dreaming. Even before my first cup of coffee, I checked NOAA... and they said it was going to be sunny and calm winds today. What a difference 24 hours makes!

So we did it. It took 9 hours of hard labor for both Jane and I, and a lot of help from our son Adam, Fred (Black Opal), and Curtis (Wind Dancer, the slip next to us). There were no breaks for pictures, so I don't have any showing the installation. But believe in magic: all 16 holes, so carefully laid out and drilled, lined up perfectly.

The sampson posts are in, and all the deck openings are sealed with polysulphide sealant. The rig is re-tensioned, more or less - I need to check it again when it can be the primary object of my focus.

Still remaining for next weekend: the anchor windlass and the bow pulpit. Jane is taking in the anchor and the 50' chain leader for the rope rode on the port side of the anchor locker for regalvanizing tomorrow. And we still need a few nuts and cotter pins. But we are now enjoying a well-deserved glass of wine and celebrating the completed job.

OK, I admit that I was whining yesterday

Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow

It is raining this morning.

In Seattle.

Who would have guessed? The rain that was forecast yesterday to arrive late this afternoon, and then last night to arrive about noon, showed up at 08:00.

So, I am not going to try to create a water-tight seal between the bowsprit and the deck... while it is raining. And it is also windy... not the best thing if you're planning to remove part of the standing rigging on the mainmast.

I have taped over the exposed holes on the bowsprit to keep the wood dry that I intend to create a seal against when I do finally install it. It is sitting forlornly out in front of the boat on a dock cart.

But tomorrow doesn't look good either. In fact, it looks like it is going to rain now for the foreseeable future:

Today Rain Hi 58 °F

Sunday Chance Rain Hi 56 °F

Monday Chance Rain Hi 58 °F

Tuesday Showers Likely Hi 56 °F

Wednesday Showers Likely Hi 55 °F

So, we will wait for appropriate weather.

Trying not to be discouraged.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow

What a great place to live!

So, Friday was a great rush. I spent the greater part of the day reassembling the various components and hardware back onto the new bowsprit. It was a rush, because the plan was to transport the bowsprit back to the dock, to get ready to install it tomorrow.

Now this is what I mean by a great place to live... On the hiway back to the marina, we got an unexpected call from the men on the dock - they were waiting for us to arrive, and were preparing to help us get the bowsprit down the dock! And its a good thing they did - it was low tide, and without help we would never have gotten it down the ramp onto the dock. (Thanks Curtis, Scott and Shoeb!)

Then, since it was really a summer day, a dock party happened (are you picking up a pattern yet?). We had nothing to contribute, having been entirely focused on the bowsprit, but that didn't matter.

The evening culminated in a joint dinghy ride out past the breakwater to enjoy the sunset. We terrorized the marina with 4 dinghies tied abreast - we were in the middle of the raftup, and our mighty 2 hp motor made its puny contribution. When we got past the breakwater, we laid out there enjoying the sunset off Golden Gardens park, running a progressive story which included the 3 gradeschool kids as primary participants. Yes, of course there was wine.

Tomorrow: the installation.

What a great place to live!

Weekend Report 4/23: Bowsprit Renewal

Another weekend, another coat of paint (and the last one). Not much to talk about here. It still is shiny white.

But I started refurbishing the anchor windlass this weekend. Since this mounts on top of the bowsprit and had to be removed to remove the bowsprit, it counts as part of the bowsprit project.

First, there has been considerable corrosion on the bottom flange, where the cast aluminum windlass body sat on the stainless steel mounting plate. I cut an isolating gasket/pad out of spare plastic sheeting I had used to line the refrigerator with when I rebuilt it (that will have to be the subject of another posting, I guess). The material is 1/8 fiber-reinforced ABS, so it is perfect for the service. This will go under the windlass when it is bolted down, to provide a bottom seal which is electrically isolated from the stainless.

Next, I painted the groady looking interior with some Interlux polyurethane. I used grey, because I had some left over.

Finally, I have applied one coat of white Interlux polyurethane to the exterior. It will take another to get a good finish.

I plan to redo the Previous Owner's wire entry plan: He just goobered up the entrance with a lot of silicone rubber, It looked like crap, and didn't seal well. You can see the two holes in the last picture, above, just to the right of the rope drum. I will bore the holes out to 3/4" and tap them with threads suitable for waterproof wire glands... next weekend.

Weekend Report 4/23: Bowsprit Renewal

Weekend Report 4/18: Bowsprit Renewal

Not too much to talk about. Scuff-sanded the first coat of paint to remove dust nits and to provide traction for the second coat to bond, and then put on a second coat. The most interesting thing was that a small pore in the surface blew a bubble - it is about the size of a large blueberry, and still exists, looking exactly the same, even tho the paint is completely dry!

Weekend Report 4/18: Bowsprit Renewal

Weekend Report 4/11: Bowsprit Renewal

Jane and I hauled the bowsprit outside where I could generate dust with impunity. I sanded the third and last coat of primer, again removing much of it and generating prodigious quantities of dust. This time I did not use a power sander - I did it by hand with a sanding block and 150 grit sandpaper - no swirls.

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Aside: Why does the dust, even from week-old completely dried paint, clump up on the sandpaper? And why do the clumps keep reforming in exactly the same places, after you flick them off?

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After sanding, I wiped it down with rags and paint thinner to get the dust off, and we brought it back inside after the thinner evaporated.

Finally, finally, I applied the first coat of Interlux single-part urethane enamel, using the roll and tip method to the first horizontal surface. I can't say enough how much I like this paint - it goes on like cream, and levels itself to a mirror-like finish. The aggressive self-leveling kept me from rolling the bowsprit over to get the next side. When I tried rolling it over too soon, it began to sag. Roll it back! Roll it back!

It looks like I will be able to get three sides coated in a day, but I will have to do them one at a time. Yesterday, I only got two, but I spent a heavy morning sanding before I started. Today, I got the other two. Next weekend, I should be able to do as many as three sides in a day, tho now that I have a coat on all four sides, the system is thrown off.

I won't be able to avoid inter-coat sanding - it'll be necessary to remove dust nits, etc. But this should be just a light scuffing with 150 (the paint fills 150 grit scratches completely).


Did I say I love this paint? The bowsprit looks and feels like it is coated in plastic.

Weekend Report 4/11: Bowsprit Renewal

Weekend Report 4/5: Bowsprit Renewal

Nothing happened this weekend. We took the weekend off and went down to Portland OR for the big auto swamp meet.

So once again, a bonus project follows.

Weekend Report 4/5: Bowsprit Renewal

Weekend Report 3/29: Bowsprit Renewal

Lovely woman that she is, Jane suggested that I bring the bowsprit into the living room so that the primer will cure more quickly. So I did. And indeed, I was able to get all the primer coats (3) on this weekend.

Like automotive primer, this primer is designed to go on thick, cure quickly, and be easy to sand. Its purpose is to fill minor nicks and sanding scratches, just as when finishing a car (with which I have entirely too much experience). And as on a car, the best use of the primer is to sand nearly all of it off before recoating, leaving it only in the low spots. This is Interlux primer, and it works very well. I continue to be impressed with Interlux products.

Since one side of the bowsprit must rest on the sawhorses, I can do at most 3 sides at a time. Thus the system arose (OK, OK, I am an engineer... I can't help myself...) to coat 3 sides, rotate 1 side clockwise, coat 3 sides, etc. Thus to get 3 coats on all sides, I needed to coat 3 sides 4 times (check me if you like). The last coat went on this afternoon.

Next will come some hand sanding with 150 grit (no sander scratches allowed in this coat), and the first of 4 coats (3 sides each...) of finish paint.

It really looks like a bowsprit now...

Weekend Report 3/29: Bowsprit Renewal

Weekend Report: 3/22: Bowsprit Renewal

Well I really screwed up this weekend - I forgot the camera, so no pictures.

So, here's what happened on the bowsprit:
I sanded the epoxy/microballoons, which worked pretty well, although the residual end cut solution still on the surface of the wood had a tendency to clog up the sandpaper.

I applied a coat of Interlux primer to 3 sides - this is what I wish I had a picture of... for the first time, it looks like what will be the finished product. Its a bowsprit!

Weekend Report: 3/22: Bowsprit Renewal

Weekend Report: 3/15 - Bowsprit Fabrication

In order to smooth out the places where the planer tore out chunks, where there was chatter, where there were splits at knots, and finally all the little knife cuts on the top surface (which is still the original surface of the pressure treated lumber), I mixed up a batch of epoxy and enough microballoons to make a stiff paste, and troweled it over everything.

I burned a whole BBQ tank of propane in the furnace keeping it warm in the shop, but still it took a a long time for the epoxy to go off. In the end, although it was not hard enough for sanding, on Sunday I applied another coat where it appeared necessary, heated up the shop one more time, and left it for the week. Hopefully it will be cured by next weekend.

Note: it is snowing here in Seattle, in the middle of March...

Weekend Report: 3/15 - Bowsprit Fabrication

Weekend Report: 3/8 - Bowsprit Fabrication

Finishing continues. To be certain that rot cannot start from any of the 19 holes drilled thru the bowsprit, I pushed corks into one end of each hole and filled the holes with end cut solution thru the other end. I kept refilling the holes as the solution migrated into the wood, eventually using up about a quart in this fashion.

While this was going on, I continued to periodically bathe the rest of the bowsprit in the end cut solution. It has so much copper in it now that it is as black as a railroad tie.

BTW - a word of caution to those who might want to do this - the end cut solution is pretty nasty stuff. If you get a drop on your hands, you will soon taste metal. Wear nitrile rubber gloves. Really.

Next week, I will start with the epoxy and microballoons, to smooth the surface in final preparation for paint.

Weekend Report: 3/8 - Bowsprit Fabrication

Weekend Report: 3/1 - Bowsprit Fabrication

This weekend I finally finished shaping the bowsprit. The last task was cutting the tip down to a cylinder that would fit the cranse iron. I made the new one long enough that it will protrude about 3" - I think that will look better than having it cut flush with the end as the old one was. And having it exposed will hopefully make any rot which might appear more obvious.

Cutting the tip was a tedious job - I used a hammer, chisel, sure-form plane and a sander, with a piece of 4" sewer pipe pressed into service as a gauge. I would like to have used the cranse iron itself, thus guaranteeing a proper fit, but it is busy right now, holding up the mast. I made the tip a bit small, because it will be painted, and because it will swell once it gets out into the weather.

Next, I repeatedly bathed the whole bowsprit in "end cut" solution. This is a solution of copper napthenate in some generic solvent, with a little brown pigment added (so you can see where it has been applied? Probably). It is a wood preservative designed for application to the ends of pressure treated lumber when it is cut - entirely appropriate given that the bowsprit is made out of pressure treated lumber! (That's froth on there - the stuff kind of foams up when you roll it on.)

Weekend Report: 3/1 - Bowsprit Fabrication

Project: Replace the Bowsprit

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The continuation of this project is being reported in the weekend project updates. To see them all, search on the label 'bowsprit'

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Flash!

We zap back to the present, because I am itching to talk about what is going on right now, in this Project segment. I would like to catch you up to the present so that I can talk about the weekend's ongoing progress on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings.

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At the end of August last summer, while at anchor in Port Madison, I noticed that some of the paint immediately ahead of the inner forestay pad eye was flaking up. So I dug at it with a pocket knife. It didn't take long to dig a hole a couple of inches deep, because the mahogany bowsprit had turned into mulch, presumably due to all the water entry into its interior from the originally failed fitting (subject of another post, sometime).

You'll note that the quarter is standing up on its own... it wasn't hard to do. I just pushed it into the mulch. Time for a new bowsprit, before the mast comes down.

First of all, we decided to not try to go thru the winter storms without an effective forestay on the main mast (the forestay attaches to the end of the bowsprit, and keeps the mainmast from falling over backward). So I made up a temporary bowsprit from a pressure treated 6x6. The biggest challenge in this job was getting the three holes for the main mounting bolts (OK, 1/2" stainless all-thread) in exactly the right place so that the tip of the bowsprit ends up in just the right 3D location to keep the forestay tight. It was good practice for when I would have to do the real thing.

In a marathon session, we pulled the old bowsprit and replaced it with the temporary. This was a difficult job, since the multiple pieces of all-thread holding the bowsprit to the deck (3 main mounts, 4 for the anchor windless, 2 for the original inner forestay attachment, 3 running horizontally for the Sampson posts) had to be removed. A few of these came out by double-nutting them and backing them out with a wrench. But most needed a stud puller (rented), or in the case of the two for the original inner forestay attachment, the sawzall was the tool of choice. Boy, the old bowsprit was heavy! It was saturated with water. With a lot of help from the other men on the dock, we got it off the bow and onto a dock cart.

Eolian is happily weathering the winter storms with the temporary. I am certain that there is more sound wood in the temporary than was in the rotted original.

The original bowsprit was made up of two huge pieces of mahogany (approximately 5"x10"x10 feet long) laminated together. The new one is a lamination too, but instead of mahogany, I used pressure treated lumber to try to hold back the rot potential. To reach the size needed, I laminated six 10' pressure treated 2x10s, using glass-filled epoxy resin and a bazillion clamps. Before bonding, both surfaces got a coat of unfilled epoxy brushed on so that the resin would be able to penetrate the surface.

To do everything I could to prevent reversing right for left, or drilling a hole leaning the wrong way, I have kept the original bowsprit on the sawhorses right next to the new one as it is formed.

So next, the blank needed to be trimmed and tapered. After carefully laying out the shape of the sides on the top and bottom of the blank, I rolled it over so that one of the sides was upright. Then I made saw kerfs across it, holding the depth of cut just shy of the line. This required frequent adjustments to the depth of cut, and about 500 cuts (on each side...). Then with a hammer, I broke off the "fins" between the cuts.

Finally, a marathon session with a power planer smoothed the rough surface to the line, and a final pass with a belt sander made it pretty by taking out the planer marks.

Then roll it over and do it all again on the other side.

The bottom cut was last. Matching the original bowsprit, there is no top cut - all the taper is taken off of the bottom.

Unfortunately, the depth of cut needed on the bottom (being about twice that needed on the sides, since it is all on one side) was too much by far for the saw-kerf method. Luckily, I have an Alaskan chainsaw mill (used for making timbers from freshly felled trees). It was the perfect tool for the job.

Then clean up with the power planer and the belt sander, as for the sides.

The original bowsprit was tapered full length on the bottom, and was then mounted on a tapered shim (teak, thankfully - it never rotted) to compensate for the taper. This was apparently a design error, corrected in the field as the boat was constructed. I made the new bowsprit with no taper for the first section to eliminate the need for the shim. Making the transition between the tapered forward section and the straight aft section was tricky. I used a hand chisel for most of it, but ended up using the nose of the belt sander (and a couple of belts) to get a nice swoopy transition contour.

OK, so now I had a blank with the right shape and dimensions. Now all I had to do was drill 19 holes, in exactly the right locations, at exactly the right angles so that when the new bowsprit is mounted, it will be located just like the old one. The original holes were drilled by hand after positioning the bowsprit in the correct location. This technique was fine for an initial installation, but makes it hard to duplicate hole alignment for a replacement.

A lot of careful measurement, layout and templating got me the locations, but I needed a jig to guide the ship auger at the correct angle so that it would come out of the bowsprit 8" away at just the right place. After some thought, I buit this jig. It allows me to set the angle in one plane - which is enough if I rotate the jig properly.

Then I cobbled together a transfer jig to show where the hole will come out when it is drilled. This jig holds two short pieces of tubing in alignment, and allows placement of the upper piece of tubing in direct line with the drillling jig and auger. The lower piece of tubing (out of sight below the old bowsprit here) then acts as a gunsight, showing where the auger will exit. It is ugly, and it takes about an hour to set up for each hole by trial and error, but it works.

The 19 holes are now all drilled. I completed the last of them this weekend.

On this last Saturday, I began the task of fashioning a 4" diameter cylinder on the tip to accommodate the cranse iron. No fancy tooling here. I am using a hammer, wood chisel, sureform plane, belt sander and a palm sander. And a short length of 4" heavy PVC sewer pipe as a gauge to know when to stop removing material. I wish I had the actual cranse iron to do this, but unfortunately it is occupied, holding up Eolian's mast.

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The continuation of this project is being reported in the weekend project updates. To see them all, click on the label 'bowsprit' just below.

Project: Replace the Bowsprit