Adding a Bowsprit to a 22'

[Owen PDX]

I have been told that adding a bowsprit, among making the boat look better, may improve the turning of my Mac/Venture 22'. I find it does not turn well, especially in light air. I am currently make several upgrades while I have her out for the winter and I would like to make this modification too but I am concerned about how to do it correctly. I would like to use wood as some of the other modifications are wood too, handrails, deck trim etc. Does anyone have any ideas or war stories of what to do or not to do?

Thanks...

 

[centerline]

i think if you let the headsail backfill and pull/push the boat around before releasing the sheet for the new tack, you will find it turns beautifully..... even in light air.
you do have to make sure you have enough speed for your rudder to work to begin with though.... if you run off a bit to gain some speed, then push the tiller hard over quickly, and let the jib back fill with wind, it will be a scramble to get the jib set on the new tack rather than waiting to get there...

 

[oreana123]

I am not certain about your boat, but on my 26D it was necessary to access the area forward of the vee berth to do this install. I wanted a bow sprite/anchor roller/forward platform. I have a source for mahogany planks which look good and are very strong. My bow platform plank is 3 inches thick.

I also wanted to store my anchor rode below so I added a deck pipe opening to allow my rode to come aboard. Some considerations: if the plank is too long, it might interfere with the aft end of the tow vehicle/camper shell Depending on where your trailer winch is located there might be interference when recovering the boat There are possibly fiberglass rails on the edges of your deck that must be dealt with by relieving the underside of the plank the plank must fit between the legs of your bow rail underdeck access must allow a backing plate and hell-for-stout fasteners. I set my plank with rtv sealer and 5/16 SS bolts countersunk into the wood with a 1 inch hdpe backing plate underneath the deck.

Having said all this, I find that my bow roller/sprite is very handy place to stand, to mount an anchor roller, to attach the tack of sails, to step off the boat onto dry ground when beaching etc etc.

 

[finding41]

Perhaps a retractable bowsprit. It's the way I'm leaning for my 26D. Like Oreana123 I have a thing that the anchor rode and chain go into. It's in the way but if I use a retractable sprit I can get around this problem. Here are some ideas...

 

[Freedom77]

Adding a sprit to the 22 will shift the center of gravity and change it's sailing characteristics. We had a '71 22. For it's length the 22 is pretty beamy. We would always fall off a bit, kick the tiller to leeward and she would come about as pretty as you please. We also added a mid-boom mainsheet which improved handling.

 

[oreana123]

Here is a side view of my bow plank/sprit

 

[oreana123]

This picture is very busy. The pin that holds my anchor in place is the point where I attach forward tack points of extra headsails. I have room to step on either side of the bow roller. The stem fitting protrudes through the wooden plank. Inside below decks, the ss metal bar that forms the stem fitting and is attached with one bolt below the rubrail, had an extra hole that allowed me to space the stem fitting upwards to clear the extra thickness of the wooden plank. (By the way, the stem fitting had torn through the deck as it pivoted aft to align itself correctly with the hounds, a common occurance on these hulls). You can see my forestay with Johnson lever and quick release pin. There is also a deck opening for water fill. The hawse pipe is aft and allows stowage of the rode, the SS chain increases the effectiveness of anchoring and keeps the 1/2 inch 3 strand rode out of the sun. I only need to unpin the anchor and let it fall when I need to stop the boat.

Functionally, putting a sail even further forward than Roger planned has it's upsides and downsides. I have flown huge sails off of the bowsprite, and gotton my boat moving in the lightest of breezes. Downwind, the possibility of dual headsails will keep the boat on a steady pull, without using the main. I have to say that the efficiency of my ruddercraft tiller/rudder/head makes up for most control problems caused by the shifted center of effort. Sails attached at the forward tack point can be flown free, but I have an Amsteel foremost stay that I use to hank the foremost sail on. This foremost stay runs to the mast head.

I have had no problem with the foremost sail changing sides during a tack. I find that the shifting wind angle smoothly brings the foremostsail between the two forestay with no problems.

As I have developed this ability to mount 2 sails forward, I have modified my original huge genoa. At first the foremost sail went to the mast head and wrapped well into the cockpit. I shortened it to increase efficiecy and reduce overcontrol, allowing me to fly this etup in higher wind velocities. The current iteration is a Yankee cut masthead sail, which I cut after observing sailboats of the 1800's. Basically I decided to fill the foretriangle and minimize overlap of the original jib. The former huge genoa made the original working jib almost do nothing but straighten the air off the foremost sail.