It's frequently called the "Bob Stay" - dunno who bob is/was.

I've always wondered why they didn't mold 6" worth of bumber along the
stem out of that same high density rubber they make auto bumbers out
of. It could be faired into the hull so that it would have a minimal
effect on drag. My understanding is that by distributing the impact
onto perhaps a square foot of the strongest portion of the hull, it
would prevent major damage when striking the object with the stem (which
I assume would be the most likely initial point of contact, as opposed
to a glancing blow along the topsides or some such.
- Dan

Rufus wrote:

For boats w/out a bowsprit, a good thick strip of SS, say 3/16 x 1 (or
1-1/2), running down the stem from below the forestay fitting to the
curve of the forefoot would help reduce damage. Would also help when
indulging in a little "Chicago parking" into concrete docks at a
couple knots... g

Bowsprits usually have a stay (correct name escapes me at the moment)
down to the water line. In this case you could run the SS strip from
the lower end of the stay down the forefoot, but if you charged into
anything above the water, you'd catch 'sprit stay. Probably the strip
would still help, though.

Rufus

Jeff Morris wrote:

Avoidance strategies might reduce the odds of collision somewhat, but
not enough to
consider the risk eliminated. Radar, for instance, might work in
some conditions, but not
all.

This leaves two approaches: one, which has been discussed, is
preparing to handle the
damage efficiently. I'd be curious what percentage of collision
damages event can be
handled with a collision mat, and how many required abandoning ship.
Clearly, when the
damage is too severe, most vessels will sink like the proverbial
stone, but there are
certain levels of damage where a mat will save the day.

The third approach is to reduce the odds of the vessel sinking, with
positive floatation
and/or collision bulkheads. Multihulls have an advantage, since they
don't have the dead
weight of the keel, and the hulls are shaped to facilitate flotation
chambers. But any
relatively light vessel can be made reasonably unsinkable. One can
make a case that
floatation bags are a better investment than a liferaft.




--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean" http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG