No access to repair bow on my Widgeon.

[sneakypete]

I cut and put a removable panel in the interior bow of my boat to repair the bow eye. The panel went on the only flat part, however it is not forward enough to fix the problem. I don't mind the panel, appearance wise it is ok.
The for interior is one big swoop of a curve and now I have no idea how to get at the problem. I cannot fathom a boat that can't be accessed without a glass patch over a raw hole. What are my options? Other patch panels for curved surfaces? This has to get fixed.

 

[Capn Bucky]

I had to replace the stemhead fitting on my Daysailer and had a similar problem; the cuddy bulkhead was too far aft to reach the stemhead fitting. I cut a hole in the foredeck and installed a 6" deck plate. The deck is not flat but I was able to fill the gaps with silicon caulk. The deckplate gave me easy access to the stemhead (and to the bow eye if I ever need it).

 

[sneakypete]

This is a pretty deep curve where something is actually have to pull the center in to flush it with the wall. I cannot believe other widgeon owners haven't come up against this problem of accessing the bow ring and forestay bracket.

 

[Sunbird22358]

Well, luckily, O'DAY built a pretty quality boat, so most owners haven't had trouble...I guess? Could you try a smaller (4" dia.) inspection port? As I mentioned in a different posting, the previous owner of my DS II used a 4" port to access the boweye for replacement (I guess his arm was longer/skinnier than Cap'n buckly? I replaced that 4" port with a 9" x 11" hatch... so, I guess my arms are bigger too!)

I've included a few pics below to show non-Widgeon owners what you are up against.

 

[sneakypete]

Thanks, I'll end up doing something cutesy to get it fixed. Incidentally, I found a 1/2" x 2' x 2' piece of oak ply at Lowe's to make a hatch cover. it came out so good I put the 25th anniversary badge on it and SS eye and pull ring. Came out nice. (I have no idea how to get photos from 'My Pictures' computer photos onto here.)

 

[Picflight]

I'd love to see pictures of what you did Pete.

 

[sneakypete]

I don't know how to get pictures from my computer to this forum.

 

[Sunbird22358]

To post pictures, Click "Go Advanced" below, and scroll down to find a tab that says "Upload Photos or Files here", click on that and a windo opens that lets you browse your files for pics, click the wanted pic then "open" and it will appear in the window (well, the file name will show up), click on "upload" and when it indicates having finished loading (files will no longr show up on hte browse lines but will be listed below) close the window and the files/pics will appear below your posted message if you click either "submit Reply" or "Preview Post".

Easier to do than it is to describe!

The ony possible hang-up would be that there may be a minimum number of previous postings from you to the forum before you can post pics? I've been on here long enough that I don't remember if that happens.

 

[sneakypete]

Thanks as always Sunbird. I'm going to open a new thread for the photos.

Saw your reply for spinnaker mounting, many thanks. To some of us, these old boats are brand new to us.