beaker

Member

Registered: 9 Oct 2011

Posts: 81

Stem tip protection?

All ideas welcome -

I want to protect the tips of the stem on my Shearwater Sport hybrid.

Not so much from use, as I'm happy for the boat to carry a record of where it's been - that sanded off look to the stern is from the surf beach at Westward Ho!, and those scrapes are the slatey beach at Windermere...

Anyway, when I take it in and out of the cellar, on edge through the door, I tend to catch the tip on the brickwork, and I rubbed the surface down to the wood. I'm after some metal tips for the decks - not brass strips all the way round, or a big sticky-up fender eye, more like a fancy boot stud perhaps?

I've seen a few home build ideas, but I don't have brazing kit, so I'm after something fairly plug and play, and low profile.

Could be anything from canal-boat chic to bling?

Rainbow

Member

From: East Devon

Registered: 29 Sep 2012

Posts: 75

Re: Stem tip protection?

Here's a really off the wall suggestion.  Many years ago I was building a wooden replica model of the Wasa, a Swedish man of war.  One of the techniques given to replicate ornate gold braiding around door frames was to twist wire together and hammer flat.  This gave the effect in the photo.  You could use copper from heavy guage mains cable.  This would suffer from verdigris and would be relatively soft compared to other metals but it would be soft enough to mould around the tips and give an element of protection, but possibly not to the level you are looking for. Other harder metals might work.  You would likely need several strips laid side by side

beaker

Member

Registered: 9 Oct 2011

Posts: 81

Re: Stem tip protection?

Billings? Did you build models before full size boats? My first was a cabin cruiser in ply on stringers, then a viking longboat. Then a gap of ahem..ty years before the wood duckling.

On the stem idea - I like your thinking there. I've been looking at brass stock in the model shops.

In the end I realised I could eliminate the problem at source, if I just had the old wall taken out of the cellar (now an internal wall after an extension a few years ago). This will give maybe 1500mm extra cellar length, so no more complicated manouvres.

Then of course I'm no longer restricted to 14'6" for a boat, and a whole new world opens up... Sassafras 16?...

Rainbow

Member

From: East Devon

Registered: 29 Sep 2012

Posts: 75

Re: Stem tip protection?

Yes, a Billing kit.  I did build models many years ago as a child then one Billing kit about 10 years ago, bought to fill the evening hours when working away from home, still partially completed and currently mothballed. 

Sounds like some good lateral thinking on the solution front.

beaker

Member

Registered: 9 Oct 2011

Posts: 81

Re: Stem tip protection?

Until I get a longer cellar, I went for tennis balls with a hole cut in, held on with cable ties.

Then I saw these just up on the site, which was what I had been after. Would they stay on the points of my Shearwater Sport?

point protector