Ryan,

These were a standard item on all Westsail 32 bowsprits.  They are fastened to the chain locker bulkhead.  Drawings of them and the installation are available in the Westsail 32 Factory Construction Manual, a copy of which can be found on the www.westsailparts.com website.

Thanks for the reply guys.  I am looking at a Westsail 32 that was not fitted out with these, I think the boat was purchased unfinished and the owner fitted the boat out.  But this is an addition I would be making almost right away.  I have access to some very large chunks of Ipe, a very hefty dense hardwood that a friend has used for new sampson posts on his 72 foot Norwegian ketch, and would like to make some nice custom bitts out of that.

Cheers!

Hello Ryan,  This is the way it was:  The sprit was thinned down at the inboard end by about 1/2” per side, exactly where the Sampson posts will touch it.  The hole in the deck should be cut as accurately as possible to the shape AND location to the posts.  The aft end of the post should be exactly on the same plane as the forward/ anchor locker bulkhead.  Hopefully the bulkhead is vertical as that will make the posts look better than if the bulkhead is perpendicular to the deck.  The post will pass through the holes, lie against the bulkhead and continue down to near the hull.  They do not need to be fiberglassed anywhere,  but are held against the bulkhead with 3 bolts each.   Above deck a horizontal bolt is used through the posts, centered, and through the sprit.  Originally this bolt and its nut were countersunk.  I do not recommend that.   That’s about it.  What I also do, however, is taper the post from a point just below deck level to about 1” at the bottom of the post.  I only do that to save a bit of weight.   Also:  the hole in the deck should be well epoxied to seal the coring.  The posts can be finished as you deem appropriate.  I seal the post to the deck with polysulfide, (Boatlife), NOT polyurethane ( 5200).   Certainly I left out 100 details but good luck.     Dave

Ryan,

Here's my homemade version before sanding and polishing.

Note the wooden mock-up during the building process. 

Original holes for the rotten wooden posts where glassed in with mish-mash filler, and new thru-deck bolts were backed with a 1/4-inch AL plate roughly 12x10 inches.

Ed