Cutwater Fitting

Cutwater fittings are normally used for attaching the bobstay from the tip of the underside of the bowsprit, back down to the stem of the boat, near the waterline. Back in 1994, I had a local shop build one for me out of 3/8" stainless steel. Two 3/4" holes were drilled in the front, the upper one for the upcoming bobstay(which actually did not get produced for another 6 years), and the lower hole was for an anchor snubber line. Originally, the word was that CSY's chain plates were strong enough that the boat could be lifted by just one; they were 'that' strong. The same concept was used here, but I used 8 countersunk Flat head 1/2" bolts, and added significant backing plates inside.
..... Overkill, trustworthy and yet simple to install. After having mine built, I got a request from the owner of Finesse, a WT 44 for a copy, so another was made.

Other CSY owners have copied this design with a tweak or two to fit their mindsets. A modified version shown here at right, is of Peter Rabbit's shortened "one holer" and using 6 hex head bolts.

Steve Silverman in Ft. Lauderdale now has my original Cutwater, shown in top left photo, to use as a template for making one for his boat, if anyone is interested, Steve is kinda in the business and might help if you want one.

The iguana photo shows the 'new' Cutwater on Memory Rose, made of heavier 1/2", 316 grade stainless but bead blasted, sealed in Pettit's epoxy primer and Interprotect 3000, then painted with anti fouling paint. This has worked out fine as well. (Note: If you wish to have stainless steel sitting in or near salt water, definitely have it electro plated, rather than just highly polished, as it will look better over time and be much less subject to crevis corrosion..period! )

The outer dish zinc was added to indicate any problems with electolosis going on, as all metal masses are bonded together. No problems evident. The separation between plates on my new design accomodates a large toggle; rather than together as in the earlier version which when plates are combined, accept a 3/4" shackle around the plates.

12 years of experiments/experience on this project and I'm still checkin' carefully.