1929 bow pole question

[DennyDowning]

Hello Everyone!

My 1929 Chris Craft Cadet "DAWN" needs a bow pole. The Bow Light has a 1-1/8" hole in the center. Difficult size to find. I am unsure how the bow pole is supposed to fit in the hole. I don't know if it is supposed to have a metal sleeve on the pole that fits into the bow light or if it is just wood that fits into the hole. My thought is that it should be sleeved like the stern pole. The other thing is that I am unsure how it is supposed to be held in place. There are no screws to secure the pole like the stern pole has. I am getting very near completion of my restoration and have been searching for a bow pole and the proper flags for use. Any help would be appreciated.

[Chad Durren]

Check with Jim Staib at www.finewoodboats.com

[maritimeclassics]

It's a slip fit with no metal sleeve. The bow pole may look different depending on the size of the boat. The pole will be longer for a 28 or 26 foot. The 20' that I restored had it's original pole and had a 1 1/8 base on the pole that fit into the bow light.

[DennyDowning]

Thank You,

I typically over think things.
Thought it might bounce out of the hole.
Now when I think about it more - very little bouncing goes on.
Okay, I got it!

Denny Downing

[charlesquimby]

You are right, Denny; very little bounce. But there is a lot of side-to-side working at speed, and when the pole works loose at 40 MPH it can go flying so fast that occupants won't see where it lands. I also have been aboard a friend's hopped-up Sea Maid and saw the burgee pole fly out and hit a passenger in the face. These things do happen. My latest build has a coffee can lamp. I bit the bullet and tapped the hole 7/8-14 NF, then cored out a corresponding piece of s/s threaded rod to make a threaded sleeve just a little shorter than my thread depth. I turned the pole base to accept the sleeve with a slight hand force-fit, applied some epoxy to both parts, and fit them together. Once the epoxy set up, I drilled through one side of the sleeve and drove in a 3/16" nylon pin to act as a lock to hold the pole in position. Threaded into the lamp fully, the modification cannot be seen, and the pole stays in place; no jamming the pole into place and no chance of it wobbling loose at speed. Purists are probably by now screaming "blasphemy!". I have also heard of providing a stud up from the bottom of the hole, and having the pole screw down over it, but think that leaves too much wiggle-room. At any rate, if one should want to tap the hole it should be done to ensure straight entry of the tap, so the lamp should be jigged on a drill press or vertical mill to assure aligned entry, then hand-tapped using a center at the butt of the tap to keep it straight. A larger lamp hole will take a little research to determine a good fit, keeping in mind that full thread engagement will be desirable, but not necessary. If the hole is 1-7/64 to 1-9/64" use a 1-1/4-7NC tap. For holes 1-3/16" , go with a 1-1/4-12NC. Verify these figures. It is your lamp. Of course this all works out better if the lamp is going out for replate, and the work can be done beforehand. CQ

[DennyDowning]

All good recommendations CQ! I am happy to know that the original method was simply a wood to metal slip fit. I have managed to find (TODAY) a bow pole with 1.125" base that should work in the "soup can" It will be refinished. I expect that there will be some build up of varnish that will allow me to tighten the pole in the hole and I expect to do just that. I like your idea of a thread from the bottom; mainly because the chrome was done last winter. I know of studs that have machine threads on one end and wood screw on the other. I will toy with the idea of having a wood screw in the base that the pole can screw into. However, my beautiful Chris is probably never going to go over 30mph and it will be used primarily here in Algonac on the St. Clair River so it won't be abused unless someone wants to use it as a hand hold; which I can also imagine. I plan to use her alot and she will see a fair amount of abuse; but, that is okay with me. She will be used as she was designed to be used. Isn't it wonderful to see the smiles on peoples faces? It all makes sense to me now. The stern pole has a lock thus needs the metal base not just as a ground for the anchor light but to protect the wood from damage from the threaded lock. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL; and Thank You!

Denny

[DennyDowning]

A final note after refinishing.

The bow pole and flag turned out very nice.
However by the time I sanded it out doing repair and preping for stain and varnish I had sanded too much wood away to get a good solid fit into the soup can bow light's 1-1/8" counterbore. Darn... It ended up kind of egg shaped at the bottom. A lot of the problem was because, as I had imagined, people tend to want to grab the bow pole for support and this compresses the wood fibers mostly fore and aft. I used friction tape. A small strip on each of the egg shape where the diamiter was thin and then one full wrap around the base. It is holding very well. I got flag on-line and everything looks great.

Hoping for a great boating summer.
Denny Downing