The bridal foil bar is to spread the loads when carrying the jib, it gets the foot of the jib down lower without pinching the bows in too much. If your is a converted 5.5 Uni, it may have the Uni set up as well, which was more like an A cat, twin forestays up to a higher point. If the boat has been in saltwater for years your biggest fear will be corrosion. Look at all the metal parts closely, especially on the mast.