Three loads at once
Lift, bobstay, compression.
The tip lifts and pulls sideways, the bobstay resists, and the section carries compression and bending together.
SparsBowsprits
Where the load lands on the boat.
Sprit, bobstay and attachment structure, engineered as one load path from tack to platform.
01What it is
The sail
is the easy part.
A bowsprit carries the tack of an asymmetric, Code 0 or reacher forward of the forestay. The sail pulls up and sideways at the tip, the bobstay pulls down, and the section takes compression and bending at once. It has to be stiff enough to tension a Code 0 and light enough not to add mass where pitching is most sensitive to it. The hard part is where that load lands on the boat.
Length, section and attachment detail are set to the sails you will fly, your platform structure and the bobstay geometry. Send us the specification form and we size the sprit with you against the full load case.
Send us your specification
02Intentional design
Engineered with
the boat it lands on.
Modelled from tack to platform.
The load path is modelled from the tack fitting through the sprit and bobstay into the platform, and the joint is detailed as a structural connection rather than a fitting. The analysis confirms the margin at the attachment points, which is where bowsprits fail when they fail.
1 / 7
03How we build
Analysed at the attachment,
not just the tube.
- 01
Analysis first
FEA on the bowsprit and its attachment structure together, under working and peak loads including bobstay tension. It confirms the margin at the attachment points.
- 02
Prepreg carbon, controlled cure
A bowsprit is a primary load-bearing component in the most exposed position on the boat. It is built from prepreg carbon cured at controlled temperature, which gives the consolidation and fibre density the load case demands.
- 03
Delivered work
We have built bowsprit components for Southern Wind Shipyard. Superyacht work leaves little room for approximation, which makes it a useful measure of whether a process holds.
- 04
Inspected before it ships
NDT ultrasound, structural calculations and Safe Working Load documentation for the tack and bobstay attachments, delivered with the sprit.