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Eastward ho 24 · 28-08-2019, 15:41

Hello everyone . I’ve got a Downeaster32 it has the stock wooden spreaders.one has cracked. while the mast is down and in storage it rolled and broke a spreader.
I don’t like wood and I don’t want to get into a wood vs aluminum debate. I just would feel more confident in aluminum so that’s what I’m going with, may add a few extra lbs aloft but she can handle it. Any how it’s not a typical extrusion so I can’t just get an extrusion drill it and add end caps. And Im trying to avoid cutting the sockets of my mast and changing that out or drilling holes. Unless I absolutely have to.I actually have the spreaders at sparcraft I’m waiting on an answer but it’s not sounding like a aluminum duplicate is something they want to do. I’ll know later this week what they say. In the mean time I’m working on a plan b.. In the past I did go to a weld shop for a quote. 1/4” thick is what the one shop said they’d do. This isn’t a shop that understands what the spreaders are or do But I assume 1/4 thick would handle the compression loads. bordering on over built and not anodized and not cheap. So I’ve been contacting spar manufacturers who do this sort of thing for a living. this route would give me piece of mind, but seems no one wants to custom fab the piece! The common extrusions won’t fit. I think this is pretty simple fab with the right equip. ( I myself am a welder and fabricator but don’t have the equip for aluminium,)but for some reason I’m getting a really hard time finding some one to do it. So my question is does any one know a capable place that could weld up these spreaders if sparcraft says they can’t? It’s basically a rectangle tube with a bevel and (2) 3/8 bolts to the mast that is 48” long. The wood tapers and that would be nice but not necessary I just need the bracket to fit the mast and the length the same ......and most of all handle the load.

P.s. it’s a lefiel mast called them they said the marine division is long gone.. here’s the best pictures I have.

psk125 · 28-08-2019, 20:30

Looks like it might be possible to take a sheet of aluminum twice as long as your spreaders and as wide as the base. Cut an even taper in the piece from the two ends to the middle, so that the finished spreader will look nicer but still be strong enough. (If the base of the spreader is 4” wide, tapering it to 2 or 3 inches wide in the middle might be about right.) Then bend the sheet in half around a small radius. The two wide ends can be drilled to match the supports on your mast and bolted on. The rounded edge goes outboard, for the shroud to pass through. (You will have to figure out the fitting or setup for that yourself.) If you’re using 1/4” stock, the bent piece might be strong enough that you might not need to weld aluminum over the open space between the upper and lower arms; it could be strong enough without it. See what you & your shop guy think. Two of these spreaders should not be difficult to make or overly expensive, and could easily be painted or powder-coated against corrosion. We’ve enjoyed working with a small specialty welding firm near us. They seem to enjoy the change of pace from their standard work and we like the prices.

psk125 · 29-08-2019, 07:08

These guys might be helpful:https://tristatefabrication.com

Eastward ho 24 · 29-08-2019, 11:55

I think I’m gonna have to go to a welding shop...what thickness do you think I would need the walls to be if I were to make it basically a hollow 1 1/4 by 4 1/2 tapering down?

Eastward ho 24 · 29-08-2019, 11:56

Oh also I’m a little unsure of the grade of aluminium to use..

Cheechako · 29-08-2019, 12:07

Personally I would just adapt a stock aluminum spreader. However, 1/4" is way beyond what is normal. I'm thinking 1/8 to 5/32 wall from just eyeballing it in the past.
Just use 6061 T4 or T6.

Excessive welding on a fabricated piece will leave you with a lot of soft aluminum. However, it's mostly in compression...

capt jgw · 29-08-2019, 13:11

My 1969 Columbia 36 came with wood spreaders with aluminum as an option. I have the drawings of the aluminum and they appear to be just plain heavy wall tubing. My wooden ones are now 50 years old and are starting to deteriorate. The only mechanical difference between the two types are the brackets welded to the mast, rectangular or round. The plan I'm considering is to cut a block of aluminum to fit the bracket, then drill a hole down the center to fit the tubing. From there the only other thing is to fab an end fitting to take the shroud, which I have the original drawings for.
If you want to use a premade shaped spreader, this same approach could work. Cut a block to fit the bracket, then cut the center out of that to fit the spreader.

Cheechako · 29-08-2019, 13:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by capt jgw

My 1969 Columbia 36 came with wood spreaders with aluminum as an option. I have the drawings of the aluminum and they appear to be just plain heavy wall tubing. My wooden ones are now 50 years old and are starting to deteriorate. The only mechanical difference between the two types are the brackets welded to the mast, rectangular or round. The plan I'm considering is to cut a block of aluminum to fit the bracket, then drill a hole down the center to fit the tubing. From there the only other thing is to fab an end fitting to take the shroud, which I have the original drawings for.
If you want to use a premade shaped spreader, this same approach could work. Cut a block to fit the bracket, then cut the center out of that to fit the spreader.

That's a great idea!

BTW: There are a bunch of used spreaders on Ebay.

Eastward ho 24 · 29-08-2019, 13:46

I like that idea and I think I’m going to go with it. I heard back from sparcraft and they suggested cutting the tabs that I do have for the mast off and drill ing a hole and using their through bar. It’s approx an oblong hole 3” by 1” there’s a solid bar approx 15” that goes into the mast with a5 degree rake on it. Then they have popular extrusions that will slide over that with a pin.and the extrusion is cut to length with the ends put on to retain the shroud. No compression piece inside the mast. Has any used this method? I’m kind of not wanting to drill a hole in the mast.....anyone advise for or against this?
I’m basically back to 3 options
1. The above through bar
2. The option recommended by capt Jgw
3 or I’m now considering going back to wood using Sitka spruce saturated in epoxy and awlgripped

Any input is greatly appreciated

Bill O · 29-08-2019, 14:10

Would go w/ the heavy walled tubing as suggested by capt. jgw. Did this on a 40' boat that I design/rigged w/double spreaders and the rig is still up after 27 years the heavy walled tubes are plenty strong.

If you want to be fancy, you could go w/a wing shape spreader. I purchased 6' spreader blanks a few years for our current boat from Offshore Spar for ~$50 each. Had my welding shop add on solid butt ends w/a slot for the shrouds and a plate on the other end to bolt to the mast.
Purchasing the blanks was cheaper than buying used ones which then needed to be retrofitted. Probably need to call OS to see which size would fit your boat.

Bill O.

Boatguy30 · 29-08-2019, 14:34

There used to be a Catalina 30 kit that was sold. Maybe now by Catalinadirect ?

Probably not the cheapest option, but might work with just a few mods.

Eastward ho 24 · 29-08-2019, 17:14

I think I’ll make the base plates as suggested out of 6061 (?) aluminium say1/4 inch blocks just to fit on the mast. these will have the bolts through so it’ll be beefier. Then I’ll use the heavy wall tube devise a way to get that welded to the blocks. and Then ill have to try to find some sort of tip for the shrouds that will fit.
Even though I was so opposed to replaceing wood with wood but it’s such a cheap and easy option I really considering it now Sitka spruce can be had and if glassed and painted it’s stronger then steel?
Gonna order the aluminium .Figure I’ll fab it all up get it all beveled ready to weld.
I’m gonna have to look into grades of aluminium and what types of filler rod is used. I am a tig welder by trade just not an aluminium welder so I’m gonna have to dig into this. And I’ll probably end up welding it my self Down at the union hall.

Ohhhhh but the temptation of going with the wood......

Eastward ho 24 · 29-08-2019, 17:22

P.s. does any one have an Alberg ? Some one told me they made a set for an Alberg that were the same. I guess it would be the Alberg 27 or above. Not sure the Alberg sizes.