Oh nearly forgot!
here is a photocopy taken from Edgar March's book, perhaps someone more knowledgeable than me can answer a couple of questions.
In the upper diagram can be seen arrowed (2 small arrows) a cavil rail, also lined in the lower diagram. This appears to span the gap between the port bitt and the bow post. Would this be correct? I've not seen such a set up on any of the black and white photo's I have, but they are not very clear.
Also in the top diagram is the forestay arrangement. It is anchored through the knee of the bitt with what appear to be lashings through a bullseye, how could this be tensioned should it be necessary? Then you have the way it passes through the bow post, I don't have a problem with the lower part as it has a nice curve to it, but the upper part shows the stay exiting the post at an acute angle, a point of extreme tension and liable to fray! In the lower diagram there is something marked 'score' on the bow post, could this in fact be a roller of some type for the stay to pass over?
Over to you gentlemen....