Short bowsprit and problems furling headsail

[cpthook]

hi there,
During renovation of my boat by a previous owner, the bowsprit was replaced and seems to have been fitted too short. The result is that the forestay and the furling mechanism on it are not fully taught and the thing wobbles a bit in the wind and can take on a slight banana shape under load.

I suspect this is the reason I have difficulty furling the headsail in all but the lightest winds? It is also very difficult to hoist and lower the furling gismo. Am I on the right lines thinking the bowsprit is responsible?

Any comments appreciated.
Cheers
Nick

 

[Peterduck]

It sounds to me that your boat may have suffered a broken bowsprit at some time, and the current one was made from a length of timber which was "nearly good enough". The mention of the bending suggests that it is not only too short, it is also undersize in diameter too. If you can't get the forestay tight, then not only will the furling gear not work properly, the sail won't either. In a fresh breeze a bowsprit can be under a surprisingly high compressive load, and it sounds as though the current one will let you down just when the going gets rough. Can you mock up a bowsprit out of a sapling or scrap timber nailed to the butt of the existing one, just to find out the length at which the forestay becomes tight. and then use that to build a decent one? Is the bowsprit a housing one, or is it permanently mounted?
Peter.

 

[Plum]

Can you please be more specific on your type of boat, cutter/sloop rig and the type of furler you have?