bow sprit

Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello all

i have a '67 Kittiwake 23 sailboat... i am seeking opinions about something... i have 3 jib sails that are all to big for my boat in the foot... i have been pondering adding a bow sprit when i put on the fuler and bow pulpit... this will give me an additional 2 or 3 ft i can add for the foot area, to allow for a bigger sail, without it being a genoa... my concern is how will this affect sailing aspects of my boat ?.... any advice will be great.... has anyone done this before ?... how hard is it to complete this setup ?....

sincerely
Jess
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
It's is rather straightforward to add a bow spirt.

But you would do all this work and spend money, just to be able to use three old sails that were not designed for the boat in the first place? For the cost of the sprit you could buy a new sail.

A staysail on a sprit will move the center of effort of the sailplan forward. What effect that has sort of depends on how the boat sails now. If you like the balance now, this will likely have a negative effect.
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
with the sails you have now, they need to be re-cut to fit the boat.... but adding a bowsprit to try and save a buck on re-cutting the sails may not help at all....

when you move the bottom of the headstay forward on your new bowsprit, it will change the angle of it, so now, as the jib hangs on the stay, the clew of a sail that is too big, will be way too low and will have to be re-cut anyway..... its better to re-cut the sails, leave the original rigging plan as it is, and save yourself some work...

a bowsprit, as neat as they may seem, can make it a pain to hand the headsail in rougher weather because the headstay is out over space without any standing room below it.... this depends on how long the bowsprit is, but it is still a significant difference than working the sail when you have somewhere to stand or kneel, and not leaning out over the prow...which is about the most uncomfortable position in the boat, other than trying to get to the engine to work on it:D
 
Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello all

I have taken some measurements and if I add the bow sprit, it will allow the furler to be further out and let the primary foresail be a 100% jib, not a 120% genoa.... and it lets my 2nd foresail be a 130% genoa instead of too big for my boat... I checked the angle on the bottom of both sails, with the bow sprit, the bottom will come up a little but not much toward the clew... if my measurements are correct, this will make the sails fit much better and I will not need to have any alterations made to them...

sincerely
Jess
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Ah.. It's your intent to move your forestay out to the sprit? That will take a fair amount of engineering to make safe. A sprit flying a 2nd stay (cutter) or just flying sails is much easier. So go for it, but do your homework! One of the most simple designs you can do is in stainless with hull brackets. A bobstay is integral to the design.

 
Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello all

the research is completed, measurements taken, drawings have been made.... I will be doing a bow sprit... the measurements I have set for it, it will be a 2 ft past the bow.... this will allow my jib foot to go from 8ft to 10 ft... I have been looking at all the teak and fiberglass bow sprits that are available on the market.... they just do not fit the look I want, or the price tag I can afford... I am good at woodworking, so I am looking at some teak boards or mohagany board... I can shape it the way I want, and attach all the hardware that I need ... and it looks like I will only have to adjust my roller fuler a little to make it fit my boat.. there is about 5 inches different in the masts from my 2 boats, so not much has to be adjusted to make it fit...

thank you all for your helpful advice...

sincerely
Jess
 
Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello

I am going to take pictures and post them on here when I am finished... I have been thinking about this for a while... the bow sprit will improve the sail area for my boat and make it better handling... it will give me a bigger jib sail area... for the bottom cable, I will use a turnbuckle to keep the tension set right... and for the forestay, I have a harken furler... I have 3 foresails that are setup to use with my furler... it was even mentioned to set my boat up as a cutter, but I don't know about that... 2 forestays, hmm, doesn't the inner forestay interfere with the jib when it goes from one side to the other ?... I am intrigued by the idea of the cutter rigging set...

sincerely
Jess