Bow Spit

[Micky]

Never had a boat with a spit on before and i was wondering, how do you get the anchor back onto deck without steping out on 3 foot of wood in a rough sea? or do you just leave it dangling over the end.

 

[FWB]

Er..the bow roller is on the bow as per usual.

 

[ashanta]

Micky, It's a Sprit.

Regards.

peter.

 

[LeonF]

Well mines a sprit but makes me spit at times. On some boats, like the Westerly Pentland the bow roller is right at the tip. On some, like mine, it's mid-way. The hazard is the bob-stay.. the piece of rigging from under the sprit to the boat, that balances the tension of the forestay. It can snag the anchor warp in a case like mine, or even the mooring warp on a swinging mooring. I have a lashing round the sprit right forward with a shackle thru which I lead the warp etc. Seems to work most of the time, but you have to keep an eye on it when anchored, and sometimes adjust it. I may at some point have a circular fitting made to hold the shackle clamped around the sprit. But they do look darned pretty. Good luck !!

 

[bdsweeting]

I wouldn't, not into a head wind anyway..

 

[VicS]

They bowsprit on the ketch versions of the Westerly 31 ft range is fairly short and massive and not what one normally imagines as a bowsprit. It is there because the sail plan is shifted forward to accomodate the mizzen, the mast is further forward than on the sloops as well.

The Berwick I have sailed regularly, although a sloop, has one too, heaven knows why, although the forestay does not go to the end, just the anchor rollers. Fortunately it does not have a bobstay but it is a flipping nuisance. It is also dodgy on the Westerlies because the pulpit goes out over the water to the end of it leaving a great gap that you can fall through.

 

[Micky]

Sorry misprint SPIT/SPRIT..lol

The chain rollers are right on the end of mine, 3ft + out of reach unless one is prepared to walk or crawl out to the end, getting the anchor back on deck looks a bit awkward.

 

[sailorman]

this is really more like a "cat head" than "sprit"

 

[daveyjones]

Sounds like bad design, all too common on production-line yachts. Have you thought of relocating the roller to the stem, which is the normal way to do it? You'd need to make sure it has a proper backing pad to spread the load, especially if your boat is plastic.

 

[LeonF]

Mick mine just sits in the bow roller...handy in case you need to drop it in a hurry. I just have a light lashing to hold it away from the sprit to stop it chafing my lovely varnish..

 

[Micky]

Thanks LeonF, i guess that's the way i will use it.
Also many thanks to everyone else for giving their opinions.

 

[daveyjones]

Hate to disturb your signing off, but I strongly recommend, if you are not already familiar with it, that you read up on the mathematics of levers. Even a 3 ft bowsprit will put huge strain on the hull if the anchor chain is attached to the end - bad enough in a river but serious if anchoring outside in any kind of swell. Your problem is not how to recover the anchor (3 ft is not far to reach), but how to stop your boat being pulled apart. If your anchor weighs less than say 50 lbs, you could sling it anywhere from the bow, padding the chain as necessary; this would put much less strain on the hull than the present arrangement. Having anchored once too often in a seaway (ie outside a safe harbour or estuary), I can vouch for the destruction caused by the violent motion of the anchor chain against just about anything it comes in contact with, but at least in my boat it wasn't hanging off the end of the bowsprit. If it had been, the sprit would have carried away without doubt, taking the forestay and mast with it.