Bow sprit in high seas.

[tager]

I don't see why the sprit would damage the boat. If properly supported, it has a pretty small surface area for the loads it supports, water crashing down on a sprit is nothing compared to a Genoa pulling on it in a blow. I suppose the sprit is a danger if you are out on it in bad weather, or if all sail is hoisted in bad weather.... then again that is a matter of good seamanship, not good design. I am all for sprits, they are a great place to stow an anchor, and they just look cool!

[RichH]

Shack -

If your question involves the potential of breaking a bowsprit (not some pompous rant involving style, current vogue, and other inapplicable subjects, etc.), then ....

The vulnerability of a bowsprit becomes real if you hit something that breaks the bobstay, then there is nothing to react against the rigging loads ... and the bowsprit will/can then flex and break. A bowsprit is typically stress designed for axial compressive reaction loads vs. the loads i mparted from the 'whisker stays, the bobstay and the headstay ... not much surface area on such sprits, yet typically strong enough, to withstand any (sideways/lateral) immersion all by itself.

Otherwise the bowsprit can and does expand the area of the sail plan, especially good for lightwind conditions when you 'can' put up more sail area, etc. etc.

Many (of the listed/recognized) circumnavigators have boats with bowsprits.

[sck5]

some "sprits" arent really bowsprits at all - more like anchoring platforms which help keep anchors from dinging the boat when you raise and lower them. The difference is where the forestay is attached - if at the boat end of the sprit then it really is just an anchor platform - and it is a pretty good thing to have, depending on the boat.

[klem]

Having spent a lot of time on boats with long bowsprits (25'+), I wouldn't worry about it breaking as long as it is properly stayed. The bobchains or bobstay is crucial when there is a headstay coming from the end of a bowsprit. If the bowsprit is very long, it is going to have whisker shrouds as well which are important if you ever plan on carrying sail out there in any blow.

The weak point in the system tends to be somewhere near the bobchain chainplate on the hull. This gets continually dunked in the water over the course of the boats life and tends to corrode faster.

Going out on bowsprits is a whole different question. Yes, it is extremely dangerous when it is rough. With modern roller reefing it isn't as bad as long as things don't jam. Most rigs that employ a bowsprit are setup so that one of the earlier sails that you take in is the jib and the staysail stays up as the heavy weather sail.

One of the posts asked why boats are designed with bowsprits and the answer has to do with history. When building large vessels, you couldn't get a tree big enough to carry a lot of sail area without having a gaff rig and a bowsprit. Gaff rigs tend to cause more weather helm so having a sail out on a bowsprit also served to balance the rig. Nowadays, having a short bowsprit can balance a rig that would otherwise have weather helm and it can be integrated with anchor rollers.

If you want to see some impressive pictures of a bowsprit failure that caused a total dismasting, search google images for pride of baltimore II. In that case a fitting that was known to be problematic failed releasing the tension on the whisker shroud allowing the bowsprit to break off to the side because of the force of the headsails on it.

[zeehag]

dry rot is also a contributing factor to de=-spriting----sprits are why god made harken.....for the roller furling ....

[SundancerKid]

Well over 100 years old with some fourty-something times round the horn and still in action with no bowsprit failures so far...

Technically, the bowsprit on this ship is iron and fairly short. The dolphin striker (that pole extending down towards the water in the closeup) is on the end of the bowsprit itself. This is extended with timber poles (OK, tree trunks really) which are known as the jiboom. zeehag is right, rot is a problem especially where the jiboom joins the bowsprit and constant vigilance is required. The whole bowsprit/jiboom assembly depends heavily on the stays above and below to take all the horizontal loads. There are also stays athwart to take the lateral loads.

But yes, it is definitely THE most dangerous part of the ship, even with the modern day netting. Far more dangerous than being aloft. In the old days, they had no netting, wore no harness and were not even tied on.