Hello SBO Forum Readers/Contributors,
I know that we all enjoy puzzling about boats and boat parts, so here is my offering for your consideration.
Recently I purchased the fittings shown in the pictures with this post. The first is surely a fitting for a Cape Dory Typhoon. I plan to use it to replace the worn stem fitting on the Typhoon we restored during the winter of 2020-2021. That fitting weighs about 4 pounds and is built just like the fitting on the 1972 CD Typhoon. The first fitting is about 10 inches wide and 3 inches along the centerline where the forestay attaches.
That is the good news. The puzzle or bad news is as follows.
The second fitting is very robust (sort of built like a brick outhouse) and weighs about 9 pounds. I was told it also came from a Cape Dory Typhoon, but I would more easily believe it came from a different model Cape Dory (perhaps 22, 25, or larger) or from a different brand of sailboat. You can notice the sliding bars that capture the bow lines; you can see 6 holes for fasteners rather than 4 holes; there are 3 holes rather than 2 in the center attachment for the forestay; and the forward part of the fitting will extend down over the bow by about 3/4 of an inch.
Questions: (1) What brand and model sailboat would have a stem fitting like the second, more robust one? (2) Would it be likely that the stem fitting design for a Typhoon would have been changed to more robust over time? Our boat is HIN 345. (3) Do you think an owner-installed adaptation would account for the use of the second fitting on a CD Typhoon even though it was originally designed for a different boat?
I know that we all enjoy puzzling about boats and boat parts, so here is my offering for your consideration.
Recently I purchased the fittings shown in the pictures with this post. The first is surely a fitting for a Cape Dory Typhoon. I plan to use it to replace the worn stem fitting on the Typhoon we restored during the winter of 2020-2021. That fitting weighs about 4 pounds and is built just like the fitting on the 1972 CD Typhoon. The first fitting is about 10 inches wide and 3 inches along the centerline where the forestay attaches.
That is the good news. The puzzle or bad news is as follows.
The second fitting is very robust (sort of built like a brick outhouse) and weighs about 9 pounds. I was told it also came from a Cape Dory Typhoon, but I would more easily believe it came from a different model Cape Dory (perhaps 22, 25, or larger) or from a different brand of sailboat. You can notice the sliding bars that capture the bow lines; you can see 6 holes for fasteners rather than 4 holes; there are 3 holes rather than 2 in the center attachment for the forestay; and the forward part of the fitting will extend down over the bow by about 3/4 of an inch.
Questions: (1) What brand and model sailboat would have a stem fitting like the second, more robust one? (2) Would it be likely that the stem fitting design for a Typhoon would have been changed to more robust over time? Our boat is HIN 345. (3) Do you think an owner-installed adaptation would account for the use of the second fitting on a CD Typhoon even though it was originally designed for a different boat?