25d Spreader hardware

[SV Tatyana]

Good afternoon everyone,

I'm in the final stages of prepping my mast to be stepped however when I purchased the boat the spreaders we're not connected to the mast, just wondering what others have used to attach the spreader to the mast. I've tried to search the forum but only found about Ty spreaders which someone said uses a cotter pin, I bought a 3/16" SS cotter pin which was the largest I could find locally but the spreaders still seem to have quite a bit of play in them, is this normal or should I just through bolt it which seems like it would be a bit more robust anyway?

I will be sure to get some pictures up of the new rigging which I have just finished splicing using synthetic rope and deadeyes once its stepped.

Thanks,
Richard

[Joe Myerson]

Hi Richard,
When I had the yard do all the work on my 25D, they held the spreaders on with extra-large cotter pins.
When I started doing some of the maintenance myself, I could not find these pins, so I substituted long (don't know how long, and the boat is still in the water, so I can't measure right now) machine screws with bolts and washers. I coated the threads with anhydrous lanolin to they would be removable at the end of the season. They have worked perfectly well.

I recently replaced the spreader boots, and I found that I got the best deal from Defender.

Hope this helps.

--Joe

[Steve Laume]

Those pins are not doing very much. They definitely keep the spreaders in place until the rig is up but once that is accomplished and everything is tensioned, the spreaders are held in pace by the compression loads of the shrouds. If things are properly tensioned you could probably take the pins out and the spreaders would never leave the sockets. I wouldn't recommend you try this but they aren't going anywhere once things are tight.

Make sure to fasten the spreader ends to the shrouds. With wire rigging,this is usually done with stainless wire. I am not sure what you would use with synthetic rigging but you need to do something. You want the spreaders to intersect the angle of the shroud so the load in in line with the spreader and carried straight back to the mast. This gives the spreaders a slight upward angle.

I have noticed lots of boats with horizontal or drooping spreaders and you know you don't want your spreaders drooping, Steve.

[SV Tatyana]

Steve and joe thanks for the info, I was able to get away with a machine screw and lock nut. Just got the rig up and tuned last night, I still seized the end of the spreader with stainless wire, will see how this holds up with the synthetic rig. Today I installed a Norvane windvane on the transom and need to finish bedding some hardware but I think I'm getting closer to launch date. I've owned the boat a little under a year and just completed a major refit, looking forward to some offshore cruising to the caribbean this winter.

[barfwinkle]

Good Morning Richard

I would love to hear more details about your installation of the Norvane and pics would also be appreciated. If you have difficulty posting them just send them to me and I'll post them for you.

Fair winds.

[SV Tatyana]

Will snap some photos tomorrow when I'm down at the boat. Installation was fairly simple as far as mounting the windvane, took my dad and I a few hours. I have yet to run the lines to the tiller but that part looks like it should be straight forward.

-Richard

[SV Tatyana]

heres a photo during the installation I took the other day, there is still a horizontal bracket missing in this photo. The mounting is extremely strong with 4 brackets each with 3/8 bolts to aluminum backing plates. I was able to mount it just below the aft chainplate inside the small box with a whole cut in it. (ignore the two extra holes below the toe rail )

I dont think it looks as bulky as I thought it would, really looking forward to using it seems like a well built piece of equipment similar in value to the Cape Horn/Monitor but much cheaper.

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[SV Tatyana]

Sorry I guess photos from flickr won't show up on here.

here's the link to a few https://www.flickr.com/photos/104061396 ... 288331386/

[CD30C]

I know this is a bit late, but I found the perfect solution to the loose spreaders. You can cut a sheet of Delrin just the size to fill the gap, and wrap it around the spreader before inserting it into the mast fitting. You will then need to drill a hole in it for the cotter pin. On my CD30, I used 2" x 0.025 Delrin that I got from McMaster.com part number 2638T72, less than $5. If you want to test the theory, a half gallon US milk carton is the same thickness. Good enough to test the principle, but not tough enough for the long haul. Steve at Atlantic Rigging made this suggestion.

If you are as cheap as I am, send me a PM, and I will send you some from the piece I have left. One foot was enough for both spreaders, and I had to buy 5 feet of it, so I have quite a bit of it left.

Doug