Boomkins & Stern Pulpits

The wood on most of the Westsail 32 boomkins is fir, and it is subject to dry rot if the wood is not kept sealed with varnish or paint. Check for the boomkin moving forward due to the loads of the rigging. You can usually check that by looking at the blocks holding the boom kin wood above the deck. If you see telltale marks of the wood block creeping forward, then it is an indication that the bolts are bent, or the holes in the wood are elongated, or both. Check the bolts holding the crosspiece to the boomkin to make sure the wood around them is not soft, and the bolts are not rusting away. If the boomkins are painted (not varnished) and you can’t see the condition of the wood underneath, and the age is unknown, you may need to remove them and strip the paint to inspect the condition of the wood and make sure there is no rot happening.

Westsail 32 Stern Pulpit

This pulpit mounts with four base plates to the wooden boomkin, with backup plates on the underside. It has an intermediate rail on each side for rigidity and safety. Loops for lifeline attachment are also provided. Clamps are available to attach to the boom gallows to run lifelines from the gallows to the pulpit. The pulpit is made so that the top rail comes just even with the crosspiece, and you may mount a wind vane on the crosspiece and it will be aft of the pulpit. The rail is straight across the stern to clear in front of the vane. A fixed upper rail is available as an alternate to the upper lifeline on the stern pulpit. This 1” stainless tube extension goes between the pulpit and the boom gallows, and provides a solid extension. Split clamps are provided to attach to the gallows legs, and the rails need to be cut to a final length upon installation. A note on the installation of the upper rails going from the stern pulpit to the boom gallows. We supply two long straight tubes, and fittings to fit 1” boom gallows tubes. The upper rails may need to be bent slightly to fit, and also be cut off to length. If you do not have a local source to do that, let me know how much the bend should be, and the length necessary, and we will exchange new ones for the ones I sent. Also if your boom gallows is not 1” tubing, let me know and we can make up special fittings to fit you particular tube size. The stern pulpit works fine providing the mainsheet is on a traveler on the bridgedeck or above the hatch. If you have the original design of blocks on the boomkin to handle the mainsheet, a hoop is available welded to the pulpit, with a strap welded at the top in the center over the tiller. A fiddle block with becket is used at this attachment point instead of the two single blocks normally used, with a camcleat built in to handle securing the mainsheet. It will be necessary to remove the existing blocks on the boomkin to mount the stern pulpit. A boarding ladder is also available that attaches to the midrail of this stern pulpit, and hinges up to align with the upper rail. This allows the ladder to be long enough to reach the water, yet hinge up to be clear while sailing. The ladder mounts on the starboard side, if the engine exhaust is out the port side. You may need to mount spacer blocks on the side of the boomkin to keep the ladder in straight alignment.

Westsail 32 Stainless Steel Boomkin:

We have had many requests to replace the wooden boomkin with a stainless steel one, and we have a number of options available to do this. This boomkin mounts on the side of the hull, rather than on deck, and clears up the stern deck area nicely. To replace the wooden boomkin, the design is a simple stainless pipe boomkin, consisting of 1-1/4" ID pipes, which are 1-5/8" OD, and a stainless crosspiece similar to the one on the wooden boomkin with a 4" vertical web. There are hull pads on the ends which bolt just below the rubrail, with backup washers inside the lazarette. Tabs are welded on the inboard side of the pipe to mount teak boards to be able to step out onto the boomkin. The boomkin sits lower than the wooden one, and the existing backstay needs lengthening. A toggle is provided to add to the backstay to allow takeup in the turnbuckle. The existing whisker stays are used. All mounting bolts and backup washers are provided. All stainless parts are either hand buffed and polished, or are electropolished in a chemical solution. To handle the mainsheet, if you do not have a mid-boom traveler, you may request a hoop welded across the boomkin pipes, with a strap welded at the top in the center over the tiller. A fiddle block is used at this attachment point instead of the two single blocks normally used, with a camcleat built in to handle securing the mainsheet. A stern pulpit is available, and it has an intermediate rail on each side for rigidity and safety. Loops for lifeline attachment are also provided. Clamps are available to attach to the boom gallows to run lifelines from the gallows to the pulpit. A fixed upper rail is available as an alternate to the upper lifeline on the stern pulpit. This 1” stainless tube extension goes between the pulpit and the boom gallow, and provides a solid extension. Split clamps are provided to attach to the gallows legs, and the pipes are cut to final length upon installation. The pulpit is made so that the top rail comes just even with the crosspiece, and you may mount a wind vane on the crosspiece and it will be aft of the pulpit. The rail is straight across the stern in order to clear in front of the vane. The pulpit fits into sockets welded to the boomkin pipes, and is removable. The crosspiece is designed so that its aft face is vertical and has holes in it to bolt a Sayes windvane directly to it. For an Aires or Monitor windvane, there are mounting adapter plates available. They consist of rectangular plates with a slotted hole, and pipes welded on. These fit into the sockets on the vane housing, and the slots permit adjustment to fit. A second hole is then drilled in each plate to rigidly mount the plates to the crosspiece. Other types of vanes may be mounted, and if you send me a description of the vane, with its mounting dimensions, an adapter can be designed and built. The teak platform boards consist of 13/16" thick by 5" wide teak boards, fitted and bolted to the tabs on the pipes. These boards will permit you to easily walk out onto the boomkin. For an anchor roller, if you do not have a windvane mounted, a stainless frame with a plastic roller is available that bolts to the top of the crosspiece. If you do have a windvane, you should lead the stern anchor line off of the caprail, well ahead of the stern, to prevent fouling the vane. A boarding ladder is also available that attaches to the midrail of this stern pulpit, and hinges up to align with the upper rail. This allows the ladder to be long enough to reach the water, yet hinge up to be clear while sailing. The ladder mounts on the starboard side, if the engine exhaust is out the port side. You may need to notch the boards on the boomkin to keep the ladder in straight alignment. On the majority of the Westsail 32's, the mainsheet is controlled with blocks bolted to the boomkin. As an alternative, Westsail did offer a track across the bridge deck, or a traveler on a frame across the cabin top ahead of the main hatch. As another alternative to handle the mainsheet, I have available a hoop frame that can be bolted to the wooden boomkin, with a strap welded at the top in the center over the tiller. A fiddle block with becket is used at this attachment point instead of the two single blocks normally used, with a camcleat built in to handle securing the mainsheet. It is necessary to remove the existing blocks on the boomkin to mount this mainsheet hoop. This hoop was originally designed to work in conjunction with a stern pulpit, however I have had some owners request this hoop arrangement without the stern pulpit. For the

Westsail 28, the mainsheet traveler was usually across the bridge deck, or sometimes on loops welded to the stainless pipe frame boomkin. This hoop is also available to mount on the boomkin to carry the mainsheet block up over the tiller if you have the mainsheet arrangement on the end of the boom. This hoop has saddles on all four feet to clamp or bolt onto the boomkin pipe. You will need to grind off the welded loops if they are now holding the mainsheet blocks to the boomkin pipe if they interfere with locating the hoop and stern pulpit. Check the drawing for the leg locations if you have any other hardware mounted on the boomkin, in the event there may be interference.

Stern Pulpit Westsail 28

We have designed and built a stern pulpit to fit the Westsail 28, as the boats did not normally have them when first built by Westsail. This pulpit is made from 1" stainless steel tubing, and mounts with the two forward base plates on the caprail, and the two aft legs on the stainless steel boomkin pipe that is used on the majority of the Westsail 28’s. These aft legs have removable sockets with a saddle welded to the ends to fit over the boomkin pipe, and they can be fastened with hose clamps around the boomkin pipes, or by drilling and tapping into the boomkin pipes and bolting with 1/4" bolts. The pulpit has an intermediate rail on each side for rigidity and safety. Loops for lifeline attachments are also provided. Some of this design were installed on the Westsail 28 that has the mainsheet traveler across the bridge deck, so there is no interference of the mainsheet with the stern pulpit rails. If you have the mainsheet arrangement on the end of the boom, a hoop is available to mount on the boomkin to carry the mainsheet block up over the tiller. This hoop also has saddles on all four feet to clamp or bolt onto the boomkin pipe. You will need to grind off the welded loops now holding the mainsheet blocks to the boomkin pipe if they interfere with locating the hoop and stern pulpit. Check the drawing for the leg locations if you have any other hardware mounted on the boomkin, in the event there may be interference. A boarding ladder is also available that attaches to the midrail of this stern pulpit, and hinges up to align with the upper rail. This allows the ladder to be long enough to reach the water, yet hinge up to be clear while sailing. The ladder mounts on the starboard side, if the engine exhaust is out the port side.

Shipping of the pulpits must be by truck freight because of the size. There is additional cost of packing and crating to protect it in shipping

Parts available:

• Westsail 32 mainsheet hoop for wood boomkin with backup plates and fasteners
• Westsail 28 mainsheet hoop for pipe frame boomkin with welded saddles, clamps, and fasteners
• Fiddle block with becket and cam for mainsheet on hoop
• Fiddle block for end of main boom
• Stern pulpit with fasteners and clamps
• Hoop to go over tiller for mainsheet
• Fiddle block with becket and camcleat for mainsheet hoop
• Ladder to mount on stern pulpit – specify port or starboard
• Stern pulpit with fasteners and backup plates
• Stern pulpit with mainsheet hoop and backup plates
• Fiddle block with becket and camcleat for mainsheet
• Clamps for lifelines to fit 1” boom gallows legs
• Ladder to mount on stern pulpit – specify port or starboard
• Add for fixed upper rails on pulpit with 1” split jaw fittings
• W32 Stainless steel boomkin, hull mounting pads, tabs welded on to attach boards, all
• fasteners, backstay toggle
• W28 Stainless steel boomkin with stern pulpit, hull mounting pads, tabs welded on to attach boards, all fasteners, backstay toggle
• W32 Stainless steel boomkin with arch tower, mainsheet hoop, stern pulpit, fixed upper rails, hull mounting pads, tabs welded on, all fasteners, backstay toggle
• Add for fixed upper rail on pulpit with 1” split jaw fittings
• Windvane adapter plates for Aires or Monitor, with fasteners
• Fiddle block for end of main boom
• Anchor roller frame – dual roller
• Clamps for lifelines to fit 1" tubing on boom gallows legs
• New boomkin stay tangs – 1-1/2” wide, with fasteners

Email or call for an exact quote - randy@westsailparts.com 415 254 7296

PDF available of this content here.