Spreader Question...

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

I notice that both spreaders on my Mac X have a bend. With a stretched string from end to end on one spreader, there is about one inch distance from the middle of the spreader to the string. The other spreader is slightly less than an inch. Since the spreaders look okay otherwise, should there be concern? By the way, I'm a fair weather sailor and I dont sail competively or in high winds.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

[jetta01]

If you are not racing, then I wouldn't worry about it. If you are worried about it, they are aluminum, so you can bend them back manually. Just be careful as it doesn't take a lot of force to bend one and you definitely don't want to cause a kink in it or the spreader is done...

[ALX357]

which way are they bent. forwards to the bow, rearwards, up, or downwards. ??

IMHO, bent spreaders are asking for trouble... they only are working right when they can resist under compression the force of the stay trying to take the shortest distance between two points (chainplate to mast hound) which can be huge when winds are stong enough to heel the boat at 20 degrees or so... If the spreader can bend in the middle, like a bow under compression, you could be dismasted. If there was enough force on them to bend them, something was wrong in the first place, as simple compression forces of sailing should not bend them at all. My guess is that someone sometime laid the mast onto the lifelines by the spreaders, if even for a short while. Or if the spreaders got the bend in them from sailing, they were set wrong at their outer ends along the stay, and got pulled sideways or up and down unstead of only having compressive forces on them. IMHO

[normo]

I agree with ALX357.

In my opinion you should replace bent spreaders before you go out again.

A thin walled aluminum tube, like a spreader, can take a significant compressive load if it stays in column (straight). Once it goes out of column its load carrying ability is compromised.

[Sloop John B]

Yeah, and take a couple 3/4 inch PVC tubes and shove them up your new spreaders. They fit real tight and the suckers won't bend under shroud tension.

Yeah, I know, you have all this extra weight aloft. Tie a red bandanna around your forehead and grip a knife in your teeth and fight like a dog out there.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

we just talked abut this...

X Spreaders

[Catigale]

Blue bandanas are faster

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

I'm replacing the spreaders and plan to insert the PVC as suggested by Sloop for a little more strength. The risk sailing with bent spreaders sounds too dangerous.

Thanks for the advice...

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

My X spreaders have a upward curve that is actually intentional as far as I can tell.

My boat is a early '96 X. These boats had the hinged spreaders that made it easy to handle the mast as they would swing down and weren't such a pain to get under the lifelines. Where the tip attached to the upper stay there is a crimped on stop above and below the spreader to keep them from sliding out of alignment. When I bought the boat (2001) it came with a set of the fixed spreader brackets for the mast that were now standard. The factory instructions for installing these brackets called for clamping the tip on the upper stay above the top stop rather than between the stops. This puts a upward load on the spreader and keeps the stay tight from the spreader to the mast at all times.

I've had no problems with this induced upward curve in the 6 years I've had the boat. I'm not sure when they stopped putting the stops on the upper stays but perhaps this is why you see a curve.

I would think as long as you have no kinks in the tube that the spreaders will be just fine. The aluminum is not super heavy and if your rig is tight there could be some bending under load.

[ALX357]

After all the posts complaining about quality control in the assembly of some Mac's, I would first suspect incorrect factory setting of the spreader-to-stay attachment to explain the curve upwards, unless it is just a pre-load that straightens out when the mast is up and the spreaders are under equal tension up and down.

[Frank C]

... The factory instructions for installing these brackets called for clamping the tip on the upper stay above the top stop rather than between the stops. This puts a upward load on the spreader and keeps the stay tight from the spreader to the mast at all times.

.... I would think as long as you have no kinks in the tube that the spreaders will be just fine. The aluminum is not super heavy and if your rig is tight there could be some bending under load.

DD,
This seems strange to me - more than a little strange. The spreaders' greatest strength is when, as mentioned earlier, they're "in column." Their only job is to bend the mast and I can't imagine any reason or way for that job to be better performed with an arc. Couldn't hurt to double check those instructions with a phone call to Bill S. I want my spreaders perfectly straight and I think I might take Sloop's suggestion for a PVC liner.

[Night Sailor]

Frank C has it right. It's a situation of force on a tubular column and straight is always best for that application. If you don't want to bother replacing them, find a hickory or oak dowel, smaller alluminum tube or something to force inside the spreader tube the full length. A few ounces aloft won't hurt you for your kind of sailing, and the peace of mind about rig integrity will be worth the few cents and an hour of effort.

After 9 years, my spreaders are still straight. I"ve been careful to maintain adequate tension in all stays. When trailering, I loosen the fore end of the lifelines so they sag enough to accomodate the spreaders when the mast is down. I also raised the mast support crutch on the helm by almost a foot so the spreaders only lightly touch the lifelines.

[normo]

If you want extra strength in the spreaders use wood. In my opinion PVC is not a good material for this application.

[Chip Hindes]

If you want extra strength in your spreaders, get a different boat.

For every person who has tried to do Mac one better by putting extra stuff in his spreaders, there are ten people who have made no modifications to their spreaders and had no trouble.

If the spreader is overloaded, I'd prefer the spreader itself break to the next weakest link, which is bound to be way more expensive.

[mtc]

Replace the Al spreaders with SS. The weight is minimal.