The power boat in the slip next to me came in for a windy docking, panicked when the wind turned him around, gave his boat full throttle, and hit my bow roller and pulpit. He actually hit the pulpit right on the little plate that's welded there to hold the bow navigation light. The light was ripped off, but no damage done to the attachment plate itself.
You can see from the attached photos that looking down the centre line towards the bow, the pulpit is off centre to port side. Where the chain plate rests on the bow, you can see the starboard side is lifted up. The port side is still more or less flush. Looking underneath, you can see the nut on The bolt has been pulled into the fiberglass somewhat. It's always been ugly with lots of cracks around that nut. Nothing seems loose or wobbly, but of course there's the tension of the forestay on it.
My first question is to ask what's in bow fiberglass? Is there a metal backing plate glassed in?
Has this called a caused a structural weakness making it dangerous? Can it be left or I should I get it repaired? I'm inland, in sight of the Rocky Mountains to the west of me. I don't know if there is expertise for this kind of repair here. What would the proper repair be, and any other reasonable repair alternatives? For example, just fashion a backing plate and use a longer bolt? I see that the U-bolts for the shrouds have a backing plate/bar under the gunwale.
The other boater or his insurance company will pay for any repairs.
A big concern of mine is that the sailing season is only three months long here. I had just launched the day before, and this was our first day out on the water. I do not want to lose this season by having my boat sit in the shop, so if it's unsafe to sail I would want to keep it in the water and just motor around and anchor and enjoy the sun and water.
It occurs to me but correct me if I'm wrong, that sailing on the main alone, which this boat does just fine, only puts loads on the shrouds? If anything, being under Sail with the main would push the Mast forward, reducing tension on the forestay?
You can see from the attached photos that looking down the centre line towards the bow, the pulpit is off centre to port side. Where the chain plate rests on the bow, you can see the starboard side is lifted up. The port side is still more or less flush. Looking underneath, you can see the nut on The bolt has been pulled into the fiberglass somewhat. It's always been ugly with lots of cracks around that nut. Nothing seems loose or wobbly, but of course there's the tension of the forestay on it.
My first question is to ask what's in bow fiberglass? Is there a metal backing plate glassed in?
Has this called a caused a structural weakness making it dangerous? Can it be left or I should I get it repaired? I'm inland, in sight of the Rocky Mountains to the west of me. I don't know if there is expertise for this kind of repair here. What would the proper repair be, and any other reasonable repair alternatives? For example, just fashion a backing plate and use a longer bolt? I see that the U-bolts for the shrouds have a backing plate/bar under the gunwale.
The other boater or his insurance company will pay for any repairs.
A big concern of mine is that the sailing season is only three months long here. I had just launched the day before, and this was our first day out on the water. I do not want to lose this season by having my boat sit in the shop, so if it's unsafe to sail I would want to keep it in the water and just motor around and anchor and enjoy the sun and water.
It occurs to me but correct me if I'm wrong, that sailing on the main alone, which this boat does just fine, only puts loads on the shrouds? If anything, being under Sail with the main would push the Mast forward, reducing tension on the forestay?
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