Help! -- Typhoon spreader base broken

[bcgreen51]

Yesterday I was getting ready to launch my 1971 Typhoon, which I've been restoring for (too many) years, and as I was tying down the mast to drive to the boat ramp, I noticed that one of my spreaders had broken off at the base. Talk about disappointment!

I've searched all previous posts about Typhoon spreaders, and it appears there are at least two different ways that Typhoon spreaders attach to the mast: I have the older style, a Schaefer stainless plate with a welded stub/ rod that the aluminum spreader tube slides over. A cotter pin (not a clevis pin, as in the newer style) holds the stub and the spreader together. The Schaeffer plate is then bolted through the mast to the plate on the other side, sandwiching the mast.

I took a photo of the good spreader and the broken one, but I can't figure out how to insert it in this message. The stub sheared off at the base of the plate; looks like the weld joint broke.

As others have reported, the spreader tube is stuck fast on the stub, from 36 years of corrosion, no doubt. In fact, I can't get the good spreader loose from its stub either, but I'm going to leave well enough alone on that one.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to take it to a welding shop and see if: (a) they can re-weld it (unlikely since there's so little showing) or (b) build me a new spreader by replacing the alumimun tube, cutting the old spreader off and salvaging the base stub and the spreader tip.

From reading previous posts, I was directed to the Rig-Rite website, but the Typhoon spreaders they sell are the newer style, with a flat plate that attaches differently to the mast. I'm worried if I buy one (or two) of theirs, what will I do with the two bolt holes in my mast, which fit the Schaeffer plate.

Any suggestions? Last gasp question: nobody has an old Schaeffer spreader plate laying around, by chance? That would be a lifesaver.

There's a great lesson in here, frustrating as it is: the spreaders are the ONLY thing on the boat that I didn't remove and either restore or replace. I could tell there was some play in one, but I tried to convince myself it would be fine. I'm sure when I tightened the shrouds it put enough pressure on the "play" to break it off. I'm just glad it broke on land, not in the water. And after all these years of waiting to get the boat back in the water, I guess another week or two won't kill me.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Ben Green
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[bcgreen51]

I got my spreader base rewelded this morning, thank goodness. They were able to TIG weld the stainless rod back to the stainless base. The welder said it will break somewhere else before that joint gives way. Cost $10 and took 10 minutes. What a relief.

I still can't get the stub loose from the spreader, but it's solid again.
Ben Green

[Oswego John]

Ben,

Congrats. Way to go. No hanging around waiting for the delivery guy, hoping the part gets here some time this month or the next.

Now, go sailing,
O J

[RIKanaka]

Is this what you were looking at on the Rig Rite site, at the bottom of the linked page (Part # SP-302)?

[img]http://members.cox.net/rkchinn/photos/sp302.gif[/img]

This is the same Spreader Base that I have on my mast. Does yours differ from this one?

By the way, to post pictures, you can't post them directly to this board; you must have the pictures hosted elsewhere, eg, on your own homepage or on a photo-hosting website, then provide an image link to the hosted photo. See this page on the forum for instructions:

http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=14638

[bcgreen51]

[quote="pakehaole"]Is this what you were looking at on the Rig Rite site, at the bottom of the linked page (Part # SP-302)?

[img]http://members.cox.net/rkchinn/photos/sp302.gif[/img]

This is the same Spreader Base that I have on my mast. Does yours differ from this one?

Bob,
Yes and no: mine is made by Shaefer and does not have the large clevis pin-- just a cotter pin. I was worried that this Rig-Rite base might not match up with the existing holes in my mast. However, I hope I don't have to worry about it, since I got it welded.

Thanks for the advice about photos. I don't have a website to host them, but I now understand how it's done (I think).
Ben