During a late October 2015 sail in my 1990 Seaward Fox, "ARROGANCE", a forceful gybe snapped my bow fitting. If it wasn't for a tethered clevis pin and sail lines leading to the cockpit, I would of lost the mast. I immediately dropped the sails and went forward. The weld broke on the fitting. A temporary fix was made by use of a diamond pad eye. Researching the original fitting, I found it to be a RaceLite RL-387. Contacted the company (http://www.racelitehardware.com), who are very cooperative. They were VERY surprised Hake/Seaward used this fitting, clearly not designed for the load put upon it. They sent me a RL-587 (free of charge) by express mail. The RL-587 is much heavier. I installed the new bow fitting, backing it up with 1/4" aluminum plate under the deck and using 1/4" x 20 SS machine screws and associated hardware (washer, lock washer and nut). I did cut the bow strap off the old fitting and reinstalled it for cosmetic purposes.
The broken Bow Fitting:
The temporary fix...Diamond Pad Eye:
The damaged Bow Fitting in the workshop:
Cutting the Bow Strap off the Fitting:
Installation of the new RL-587 Bow Fitting:
The RL-587 Bow Fitting:
