A bow pulpit/windlass is one of my winter projects...

W

WTP07

New Member
Jul 16, 2008
219
Southwestern Ontario
Boat Info
1985 Cruisers Inc
Ultra Vee 336
Engines
T454 Crusaders - 700HP
....so I went around the marina this morning with the camera to get some ideas. It's going to be made of teak, and will need room to mount a windlass and anchor roller on it. I have the anchor roller already, (BRM-2, by windline) and I am pretty sure I am going to get the Lewmar 700 freefall model windlass.
Here is the design I am looking at so far for the pulpit.:

IMG_5430.jpg


Does anyone have any pictures or ideas they would like to share from their pulpit? I am open to pretty much any design idea at this point.

Thanks,

Randy.
 
I can't see the pic at work. Do you use a trailer? A bow pulpit with the anchor sticking out can interfere with the winch on the front of the trailer as you launch and recover. It can be quite a problem.
 
John,

I never even considered the trailering aspect. I only trailer it a couple times a year, in in the spring, out in the fall, with MAYBE one road trip midsummer. The anchor could be removed for all of these, but the pulpit and bow roller would need to stay in place. I assume it makes getting it back on the trailer a PITA. Will have to dunk the trailer further I guess to make that work.

Food for thought though. Thanks!

R.
 
I experienced anchor/trailer winch interference on only one occasion and it was a VERY steep ramp. The windlass was probably the one upgrade that I enjoyed the most benefit from.
 
you need to plan it carefully, because teak pulpit may not be strong enough when boat is on anchor on windy day
I would rather see nice teak pulpit with anchor davit on top, bolted through fiberglass with proper backing plates
 
Lewmar V1 windlass should arrive tomorrow via UPS, wood will be in tomorrow too.

Now I just need it to warm up a bit outside so I can start crafting this thing! :smt021

The V1 was too good of a deal to pass up at $420 (boatersland)

I guess I can start running the cabling at least until the snow starts to melt...
 
Here's how I did mine:

DSC01325.jpg


DSC01329-1.jpg
 
If you bought 4/4 stock (finished 3/4" thick), I would recommend cutting it into strips where the width was equal to the dimension of the finished thickness of the pulpit. Then laminate the strips together trying to alternate the growth ring pattern. This process will reduce the possibility the pulpit will warp over time. If you just double up two 3/4" boards to make a 1-1/2" plank, there is a risk that the boards might cup. If you haven't worked with teak before, be sure to clean it with Acetone before gluing. I also have had the best results using a good epoxy (such as West System).

Henry
 
Henry, you must be a Woodnetter...

I was about to tell Randy that a good site to go to if he has any questions regarding the actual woodworking with Teak, he should try woodnet (.net). He'll be able to get some really good finishing and gluing advice there. Just watch out for the screwballs. Now those guys can get brutal. Makes this place look like a charm school tea party on a Sunday afternoon.

Michael
 
Hey guys, just talked about it in another thread, but I recently did mine too. Good advice on working with the teak, I used ipe (pronounced eeepay) instead, was told it would workd as good and I couldn't get the teak. Even the ipe was expensive, over a hundred bucks just for the lumber. The told me teak would be double or triple, if they could get it. Gluing it is about the same as teak, I used "dominos", they are like biscuits or dowells, and the west system epoxy to hold mine together. I also took off my anchor locker and the metal frame around it. on my boat there was one flat surface that both the locker and pulpit mounts to, so i extended the bow pulpit to cover the whole area, then mounted the windlass on it. That way the pulpit is stronger because it mounts from farther back, and it gives a clean appearence to the bow. Kieoke used teak to make his locker, and that looks pretty sweet too. I don't like the original anchor locker though, looks kind of dingey next to the teak and fiberglass to have just some painted plywood. Especially if you are going to mount a windlass to it. You can see a pic of what I did in a similar thread, "'82 anchor hatch restoration" in the "classic sea ray's" forum.
 
You can also use Sapele as a substitute.

Eric - How much do you use the Domino cutter? I have looked at them a number of times and can't justify the cost. That being said I do have the circular saw, 1/2" router and Rotex sander.

Henry
 
It's not mine, a buddy let me use it. I used that along with his festool sander. Those tools are amazing, and the domino thing was pretty sweet too. You know about the sander since you have one, but WOW, especially with the irritating dust from those exotic woods, I was really impressed. The guy I borrowed it from said he uses it a fair amount, even on little projects. I guess they hold a lot better than dowels and biscuits. we used mahogany dominoes on mine, that was the closest wood we could find.
 
Thanks for the awesome tips and ideas guys. I really appreciate it!

The windlass JUST showed up (5PM EST) so I didn't have a chance to get the lumber today. I am leaving tonight for a week or so in Toronto, so won't have a chance to get to the pulpit portion of this project until at LEAST the weekend. Not that there is a rush on it. There is about 4 ft of snow on my front lawn at the moment. :(

I do plan to laminate the strips in opposite woodgrain directions. My neighbour is a master cabinet maker, so I am taking the wood and Polyurethane to him to glue it and do what ever he feels is the right way to join them, be it biscuits, dowels, dominoes or whatever.

I will add pics as I go.

Cheers,

Randy.
 
Randy,

Be careful on your choice of coating. You might look into boat specific coatings that are not necessarily polyurethanes. Shellac for example, while definitely old school, actually has the best moisture resistance. See Wooden Boat Magazine August 2008, 'Traditional Recipes'. The thing about polys is that they are all, or nothing, coatings. Re-coating is a fact of life in this particular application. SO make it easier on yourself. An oil base rub on (linseed derivative, for example) might only last a season, but can be redone in about 30 minutes. A poly coating when gone bad will require sanding and most likely the removal of all metal hardware to do it right.

Henry
 
Good point Henry - I really prefer to just teak oil everything. It takes me about 20 minutes to pressure wash the boat and wood, couple days to let it dry, and twenty more minutes to re oil everything. Sounds like a lot, but its pretty hard to screw it up, and I find it pretty easy. I have had to sand down some wood that others decided to polyurethane, and that is not as much fun!
 
I struck it rich!....well,....sort of....

I went to my hardwood supplier today, and they had a solid piece of Iroko, 2" thick, 16" wide and 5' long! :smt038

I got them to machine it down to 1 3/4" thick for me. This piece of wood is beautiful!!! It is certainly going to be sturdy enough to use without cutting it into strips and laminating it.

I will post a picture later tonight. I am at a business conference until Sunday, so it is sitting in the back of my car at the moment, in the parking garage.

I just need to shape it to the way I need it for the pulpit, then finish it.

The guy that I bought it from recommended 12 coats of epiphanes to finish it. Any experiences with this stuff?

I have read that I will have to wear my respirator while sanding this wood too, apparently it is pretty hard on the lungs!

Getting excited now! Only 16 more weeks till launch day! :smt021

Randy.
 
Hampton said:
I can't see the pic at work. Do you use a trailer? A bow pulpit with the anchor sticking out can interfere with the winch on the front of the trailer as you launch and recover. It can be quite a problem.
Click to expand...

ditto the trailer issues. If my pulpit wasn't molded in, I'd cut it off.
 
OK, So here are some pics of the piece of Iroko.

IMG_6856.jpg


It is 60 inches by 16 inches by 1 7/8.

Here is a close up of the grain:
IMG_6859.jpg


The plan is to round off the nose, round the top edges, have the Sea Ray logo laser engraved/etched in the top, then add a dozen or so coats of epiphanes.

I will post more pics as I go.

Cheers,

Randy.
 
Randy -
the piece of wood looks real nice, i would just be a bit concerned about warping with a single piece of wood like that. I was told to use strips when I made mine, but I am not sure yours would warp. Just a warning I was told, and thought I'd pass it on. It would be a real shame to cut up that single piece of lumber just to rotate it and glue back into one solid piece - but an even bigger shame to finish the project and then have it warp and crack next year!
 
Oooh yea, about the loading on a trailer issue, I have had my crank come into contact with the platform, but it has never been an issue. Mine clears my enough that it never really hits when I crank the boat up. I have been on a real steep ramp and it was almost an issue, but I just pulled the trailer farther out and cranked the boat up by hand.
 
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