Velorum #215: Wire Bobstay

While I wait for a day when my son can help me hoist the engine from the cabin sole into the engine compartment, I finally received the StaLok part I needed to re-build the bobstay (050-07). The original bobstay was NavTec rod and was beat up enough for me to think twice about reusing it since it is a really important piece that keeps the forestay and bowsprit from pulling up.

Additionally, the backing plate to the bobstay was originally 3/16" aluminum flat bar and it was so corroded that it looked like swiss cheese. So the first thing I did was make up a new backing plate from 1/8" 316 stainless steel and reproduce the bolt pattern from the original. One would think that the bolts would be perfectly inline down the length of the backing plate, but that was not the case. When the boat was built, whoever tapped the 4 holes for the bobstay fitting, drilled them a bit cockeyed so by the time they reached the interior of the boat, they were not inline. Anyway, after carefully marking the hole pattern on the new backing plate, I put my drill press on low speed and drilled out the holes, going slow and lubricating the cut with WD-40.

My wife and I went over the the boat with the outside bobstay fitting and the new backing plate and test fitted it before bedding it down with sealant. Next we reattached the old bobstay to make it fit and then took the measurements back to the shop where I cut a 58" length of 7mm compact strand wire (the same wire as the rest of the rigging).

At this point it was just a matter of installing the new StaLok fitting (050-07) on lower end and a StaLok turnbuckle stud on the upper end. Once it was all together, I compared the length of the old and new before going over to the boat to install it. I set the turnbuckle to about 2/3 max length so there is plenty of room to tension it (up to ~2"). Except for having to wiggle into the anchor locker to get the new backing plate on, this was a satisfying job because there was minimal fuss and boat yoga required and I was finally able to see the boat with a bobstay on it (the old one had been sitting in my shop for 2 years).

While I was spending some quality time up in the anchor locker, I started thinking about sealing the locker up so that water from the wet anchor rode doesn't drain directly to the bilge. I'll be tacking this project soon, but the engine install is next in line.