Seaward Fox Broken Bow Fitting

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:

Project: Bobbin; The English Sailing Dinghy

My latest project is restoration of a Bobbin, an English Sailing Dinghy. This Bobbin was manufactured in the very early 1970’s by Pearson Brothers of Arundel, West Sussex, England. Only a thousand were built till they went out of production around 1980. This Bobbin has sail number 586. The Bobbin still has a very active sailing community in England to this day.

The Bobbin is hull is of hand laid fiberglass with a length of 9ft 2in, a beam of 50in and weighs a mere 80lbs. The dagger board is of laminated mahogany, painted. The tiller and kick-up rudder is of mahogany board. The mast is two piece aluminum with a height of 15ft 2in. The sail setup is of a sloop with a tanbark color jib and mainsail. The original owner used the Bobbin as a rowing dinghy. In fact, sails, sailing hardware and control lines were still in their original packing.

Before Pictures:

The restoration has included a complete refinishing of the hull. I have repainted the exterior of the hull white and the interior an almond/off white. All paints applied are marine polyurethane. The gunwales are made of fiberglass which showed a flexing because of age. I have reinforced either side of the gunwales with white oak rub rails. They are now very rigid. They have been stained. The fiberglass top of the gunwales, water line and bottom are painted a burgundy.

After Pictures:

The Bobbin will be a perfect compliment with one of my larger sailboats to be used as a dinghy in tow or hung on a pair of davits. With a weight of 80lbs and a storing mast/boom that fit within the hull, storage of its sailing gear is not a problem. Since the Bobbin is so portable, car topping would be easy and taking it to a nearby mountain lake or the bay would be an adventure of its own.