Discovered a black spot on the base of my bowsprit last Fall, and so I poked at it with a screwdriver. After digging out a large cavity, and seeing that the sampson posts were also rotted, I decided I had no choice but to replace all. The original bowsprit in this case was oak, and I suspect it was red oak since it was also a replacement done only about 12 years ago. I chose laminated white oak as the wood, and also for the "wings" on either side. The new posts were also white oak and instead of milling a recess around the bit, I used a stainless steel hexagon rods. It's important to select good lumber, the mill shop I used used dry lumber planed and sanded. The large 6"x 2" planks were then laminated to give a 6" x 6" tapered timber. Bolted as before through the deck and beam and posts.