Removing Teak Bow Sprit on Classic

[bccanucker]

I am looking at pulling off my wood bow sprit to varnish over the winter. Have any of you, with this configuration as pictured, done this? As I look at it I'm wondering if it is glued down and will cause too much damage to remove.

anchor pulpita.jpg

[jleonard]

I think mine is screwed in place as I see two screws here and perhaps more under the stainless gizmo.

IMG_0746.jpg

[seblyte]

Hi, yes I have done this job. It's very straight forward. I first removed the bow roller. This will reveal a large M12 x 100 coachscrew which fixes the bow sprit to the toerail. I unscrewed this and found it to be bent so someone must have given it a mighty bang! This had damaged the wooden toe rail so I was able to repair this and replace the screw with a new one and stop any further water ingress. Then you just undo the large 'through' bolt that attaches to the samson post and knock it out and you are away.

[bccanucker]

Ahh, thanks for this. So there was no adhesive or caulking fastening the wood bow sprit to the toerail?

[seblyte]

No none at all

[bccanucker]

I found this to be pretty much as Seblyte said except I had to use some Physics trickery to get the big thru bolt out thru the Samson post and it was important at the end to pull the whole thing forward as the Samson post is notched.
Thanks seblyte, I don't think I would have persisted without your help

Anchor Pulpit 001w.JPG

[whwells]

Roy: Good job. Of course this is going to take away from your golf time this winter. Your refinished teak on the boat looks really great.
whwellls 'Howard"

[crowra]

Roy (or anyone): What 'physics trickery' did you use to get the Samson post thru-bolt out? I tried whacking it on the end but it wouldn't budge. Does the M12 bolt take a 19mm socket? Naturally the largest I had was 3/4" and 17mm. Thanks

[seblyte]

Hi

Yes I've done this. You have a main bolt that fixes the bowsprit to the deck. It will be sealed but this will break away easily. Be careful about the teak toe rail as it joins at this point and may break up. It's a simple job and if you are refurbishing the bowsprit it will be a good job.

It's also fixed to the samson post. This is sheathed and again it may break away with some damage. What I did was to sand it down. Fill the cracks and damage with an epoxy filler and repaint with a 2 pack marine paint. Teamac paint is my favourite. Don't be hasty with the repainting. Make sure you prime and undercoat and rub down between layers. I invested in a 1 inch artists brush and got a superb finish.

Be brutal when you are stripping the teak. Take it back to bare wood and then 10 coats of marine varnish. Gently abraid every three coats.

Final tip. Make sure you use plenty of sealant when you rebolt the bowsprit, otherwise it will leak into the forecabin and cause great damage.

Please feel free to contact me at any time.

Sebastian

[crowra]

Sebastian - Thanks for the reply! I am trying to figure out how to remove the bolt that goes through the pulpit (bowsprit) and the Samson post.

[seblyte]

Hi again,

Mine just had a through bolt with dome nuts at each end. I released the nuts and the through bolt just slid out. I may have tapped it through, but it was not a big deal.

S

[jleonard]

Mine was just a standard bolt and nut (5/16). It came out easily with only slight tapping with a hammer and punch.