fortunate discoveries of undesirable repairs

While polishing C'est la Vie's stainless steel bowsprit I discovered a hairline crack along the lower fork of the rod bobstay.  Perhaps a picture is worth more than a thousand words

The bobstay is the strut that spans between the leading edge of the bowsprit and the hull of the boat.  In the image above I have replaced the bobstay with a hank of yellow rope.  The bowsprit is not designed to bear the loads exerted by the forestay.  The bobstay transfers the majority of the rigs loads into the hull of C'est la vie.  If the bobstay were to fail while sailing there is a good chance of the entire rig failing and falling to the deck.  So we are pleased to have found the crack while on the hard.  We are dismayed at the addition to the project list, and even less pleased about the added expense of repairing the stay.

Here is a closeup of the crack... in the image included I am pointing at the tiny crack.

After collecting a couple assessments of the damage and corresponding repair, I dropped the stay off at a local machine shop.  the plan is to remove the forked end of the stay and replace it with a new section of stainless rod.  The machinist will likely use a section of a stainless drive shaft to make the repair.

Now we wait two weeks until the stay repair is completed.  Until the bobstay is replaced we will need to keep the mast in place so that the forestay can support the weight of the bowsprit.

In the mean time, I have stripped off the mainsail and boom.  We plan to replace the slides on the mainsail/mast with a Strong Track system .  Due to damage along the luff of the main sail we knew we would need to replace the upper two slides.  We have heard great reviews of the Strong Track so with the mast down and other work being done on the sails and rig it seemed like the right time to upgrade.   

We did not realize the internal outhaul on the boom is seized.  I've relocated the boom to the backyard where daily doses of vinegar can be applied to the various boom orifices in hopes of freeing the outhaul.  If over time this does not prove effective the next step will be to attempt to remove the forward end of the boom in hopes of accessing the out haul system.  Personally, I'm skeptical but hopeful the vinegar works.