BR20 Short Bowsprit

[Rock Doctor]

Hi All,
Over our summer I have been contemplating replacing the standard jib club boom arrangement with a short bowsprit and separate forestay but retaining the self-tacking capability. This I plan to execute over the southern winter along with repairing damage done to my rubbing strakes by a #%@! jetty I used last week (new fenders on order).

I have seen a short bowsprit arrangement in the BR20 rigging and mods paper in the library and wonder if anybody has some drawings and/or specs for this setup.

Thanks and regards to all of you who must be relishing the return of good sailing weather.

[Graham W]

I'm fairly sure that Matt has the CAD dimensions for the short bowsprit on his computer.

[Rock Doctor]

Hello Graham,
will follow this up, have been talking to Matt re O-rings for my hatches so can add this to the list. I determined that about half the hatches leak through the seals not the hull-hatch seal. Used my tyre compressor to inflate the tanks and tracked the leaks with soapy water.

All the best and thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

[Graham W]

Chris,

Off topic but do you have replacement o-ring specifications that you can share? Several of mine look like they need replacing and I don't want to pay chandlery prices for them.

[Rock Doctor]

Graham,
no I don't. I asked Matt if he had these for the Sea World hatches and I don't think so. In the meantime he is trying to source the O-rings alone otherwise I will be up for buying full hatches to extract the O-rings. I have tried to determine this myself but getting a scheme for measurement is almost impossible. If I can afford a day's drive and a bit of frustration I might try and visit Ludowicis who make these things - don't know how they will treat someone looking for 6 or 8 of these things. I do remember when I was working at a mine that the guys actually used to make up these things on site. They made up some to suit a flow meter I constructed to measure flow rates like 10,000 gallons/hr from a bore. Unfortunately cannot find any info on this on the net.
In any case you have spurred me along, I will try Ludowicis again and see if someone will talk to me about how to measure these things - ID or OD, diam of material, type of material, etc, etc.
BRGDS

[Rock Doctor]

Graham,
further to my previous, every hatch I can find over here is different, none match each other let alone the Sea World version.

[Graham W]

Still off topic, the most vulnerable Seaworld hatches that I have on my boat are in the cockpit sole, which get bashed about.  I bought two 125mm replacements from these people http://www.seascrew.com/browse.cfm?BOAT---YACHT-INSPECTION-COVERS--SEAWORLD-&l=0000000279

These 3mm o-rings from Hong Kong might fit http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125mm-x-3mm-Automobile-NBR-O-Rings-Hole-Sealing-Gaskets-Washers-10-Pcs-/290912717701?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43bbbfcb85

Other hatches that I have on my boat are Seaworld 203mm and 152mm and just to be different, some Barton 103mm.  I should have thought it would be sensible to standardise on one size during construction wherever possible.

[Rock Doctor]

Graham,
still off topic, I have sourced some O-rings from Ludowicis. Some are on back order. I will send details including the Ludowici part number when I receive the final lot by mail.

My hatches are 125mm x 6, 152mm x 2 and 203mm x 2 - all SeaWorld brand. The O-rings for the smaller hatches are all metric but the bigger one seems to be Imperial sizing - will know more by the weekend.

[Rock Doctor]

Graham,
obtained my O-rings for SeaWorld hatches. Sizes are 125mm hatch - 125.00mm x 3.00mm; 152mm hatch - 152.00mm x 3.00mm and 7.984" x 0.139" for the 203mm hatches. All are nitrile - not silicone but am advised that this is satisfactory for saltwater - time will tell. I have the Ludowici part numbers but I don't think they operate in the UK. Ludowicis are a supplier of seals of all sorts to industry so trying this approach may prove more worthwhile than arm wrestling with chandleries.
Regards

[Graham W]

Thanks Chris, very useful.  I think some of these in nitrile are obtainable on eBay over here.

[Julian Swindell]

I bought new hatch O rings from Simply Bearings. They seemed to have every size you could think if and sell them in packs of 2

http://simplybearings.co.uk/

[Peter Cockerton]

Chris and Julian

Replacing some of my access hatches and replacing o rings on the others, your posts made it very easy to order the correct size and to find a supplier. I'm replacing the two eight inch plates and the two 5 inch plates at the stern end of the cockpit as these are the four which look the grubbiest, the rest i will just change the o rings on for now, the plate surrounds came away from the hull very easy when the fixing screws were removed but removing the bedding adhesive/sealant was another matter.

Thanks

Peter C