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My starboard spreader is bent about three inches from the tip. It is still quite cold here, and I have not yet been able to give a good look see at the problem. How difficult is it to replace the starboard spreader?

Any suggestions as to where the best place is to purchase the part?


Ray[/b]

Hi Ray. I bent mine the first time I raised the mast alone. the extra cost and time getting the anodized spar frightened me. Truthfully, I was terribly embarassed to admit my blunder. It turns out that it's a pretty standard 1" diam. aluminum tube available at many local hardware stores. I added a short piece of wood dowel to reinforce it. 'Had to drill a couple of holes in the right place, and cut it to length. I wonder if anyone is going to notice it isn;t anodized this year?

I think it's same one-inch tubing for your M as on my X. Spreaders are just over 4 feet per side on the 26X, but the factory parts list shows it at less than 4 feet. If you haven't browsed those pages of the factory website, you might find it interesting. (Shown below is the full, 3-page drill-down to reach the spreaders ...

Factory Table of Contents

Suppliers' Corner page

Aluminum Extrusions page
ALUM TUBING - 1" OD 1/8" WALL, SPREADERS 14'9" (using half per boat)

I just bought stock aluminum tubing at Metals Supermart (a Calif chain). If you want it clear anodized, you should contact a dealer. Stock stuff might be $1.50/foot, or ~ six bucks ... but the dealer might need to charge about $20. I have one of each, anodized vs. raw. At 12 feet high, they look identical!

I bent a spreader about 9 months ago, probably running into a tree branch at the marina on the way to the launch ramp. I bought a replacement from the dealer. Can't remember exactly how much... somewhere around $35. It's an easy install. Just loosen two screws to free it up from the upper shroud and swap it out. Make sure to mark the shroud at the exact position so you can put it back the same way on the new spreader.

I also bent mine the first time I lowered and raised my mast. In order to still go sailing that weekend (We were 3 hours from home) I hacksawed off 4" and drilled the leftovers then readjusted the rig. Sailed 4 days on that.

When we got home I went to a place right down the road called "Metal by the foot" and bought matching tube. Frank is the stock newer models 1/8"?? Ours was thinner, I should measure it since I have it off of the boat. When I bought the tube I bought enough to keep a spare spreader under the aft berth. I think I spent between $14-$20.

To answer the original question "how difficult to change a spreader" On a scale of 1-5, 1 being easy and 5 being impossible. its about a 1/2.

I bent a spreader last weekend. I'm not the most handy guy, but found annodized pipe at a local metal distrubitor in all sorts of color except silver. Chose black and drilled it out. Worked well and looks even better with the black.

Scott, I think you're correct about wall thickness. I recall that my spreaders were different than the ~ .095 that Factory-Bill advised on the phone, which would be about 3/32nds. I think I found my bent one was 1/16th inch (.0625").

X owners have used various means to stiffen their spreaders, including an internal PVC liner, a dowel, and even upgrading to stainless tubing. But mine are still just the thin stuff - they're mostly in lengthwise compression, plenty strong until they get side-whacked.

In fact, 1/8" sounds awfully big doesn't it? Maybe they had to stiffen-up due to the pivoting design.

My spreader is only held in by one screw; pretty easy to replace. I suspect you could get a tube from Mcmaster-Carr: http://www.mcmaster.com/

From an engineering standpoint, I would replace a broken spreader with one very close to the original. Don't go thinner for obvious reasons, but also, avoid the temptation to "upgrade" to a much thicker wall, and don't attempt to stiffen the spreader by inserting dowel rods or whatever.

The truth is, spreaders don't often break unless they are loaded in an unnatural manner, and if you inadvertantly load them in that fashion, and the upgraded spreader doesn't break... If you break the socket, you may have trouble finding a replacement, and if you do the price is liable to be higher than a simple piece of tube.

I used a set of carbon fiber spreaders with my stock mast for years after bending one of the stock ones while out sailing in heavy weather for the first time. The spreaders were a used set off a Melges 24 that trashed their mast and I got them for free. They are 3 inches shorter than the stock 26X spreaders and work great in the stock fittings. When I went to the carbon mast I inspected & decided to keep the spreaders as they were still in great shape. It's amazing how much old 'trashed' carbon stuff is out there sitting around doing nothing but collecting dust. MM

I gotta go with Chip on this one... I'd bet most people have never had a spreader failure. I also bet that 99% of those that have would acknowledge it was due to some issue where the spreader encountered an abnormal force that it never should have seen, such as during a mast raising/lowering event...

So, it seems to me that it would be a better idea to just keep a pre-cut spreader, of the same dimensions, under the after berth, or even in the tow vehicle - rather than upgrading them and potentially moving that failure from a widely available $6 part to a high $ specialty part...

Frank, I went down to the basement this a.m. and mic'd them. 1" od tube 1/16 wall thickness= 7/8 id.

I replaced my spreader on the 26X this past October. It broke during one of our hurricanes. I called the MacGregor factory and ordered it for $24 (? more or less). I had to send them a cashiers check since they do not accept visa.

I installed it while the boat was moored in the water. I lowered the mast unscrewed the old broken spreader and installed the new one in less than 1 hour the whole job. Just a few screws on the end cap.

So, it's an easy job and inexpensive whether you purchase it or build one as others suggest.

Wrap the upper shroud just above and just below the spreader tip with electrical tape. Pull it good and tight so the tape doesn't slide.
Remove one of the machine screws from the spreader tip, with a phillips screw driver, and loosen the other one so you can remove it from the shroud.
Remove the 1/4" hex-head bolt from the spreader bracket, that is holding the spreader tube, with two 7/16" wrenches.
Remove the part of the spreader tip that is inside the spreader tube, with a phillips and 3/8" wrench (I think).
Take this part of the spreader tip with you to the store. Find some aluminum tubing that the spreader tip will fit into. Around here, I think it's Ace hardware stores that sells the correct size tubing. Another one sells tubing that is just a little thicker wall that the spreader part will not fit into it.
Cut the tubing to the correct length. Drill the holes. Put the spreader tip part into the tube, and put the tube into the spreader bracket, with the screw/bolt heads on top.
Put the tip between the two pieces of electrical tape and tighten the two screws that hold it to the shroud, evenly.

...for a while there..I was going through Spreaders like clean undies! Just ask the Guys at the MDR get together....