Spreader tip fixing question

[RobbieH]

I have a 1974 Dufour Arpege on which I have just renewed all the standing rigging. The spreader tips have a S/S grubscrew running in a thread so it can clamp down on the wire of the cap-shroud to hold the shroud in the spreader tip slot and prevent it from slipping up and down.

However ... The Arpege owners manual makes reference to a nylon screw so I presume the S/S is someones replacement. I am a bit wary of screwing a S/S screw end down onto my brand-new capshrouds hard enough to stop the spreader moving vertically, I'm worried about deforming the wire. Almost everything I read (exception Sigma 33s) talks about seizing the spreader tip through holes drilled in it with Monel or SS wire.

So my options are -

1/ use the SS grubscrews as is

2/ replace the SS grubscrew with a nylon one or put a nylon insert between the grubscrew and the shroud

3/ Drill holes in the spreader tip and seize it to the shroud

4/ Replace the spreader tip and seize it to the shroud.

So I'm looking for opinions/advice. Had anyone ever seen a shroud fail because of this kind of configuration? Would seizing the spreader tip be a better option?

[Tim]

I would not place any screw in to secure your shroud, and most certainly not a stainless one. The idea in using the nylon, I suppose, was that it was tough enough to just secure the shroud enough without actually damaging it (debatable), but a stainless steel screw could/will cause serious damage to the wire strands. Bad idea.

I'd suggest switching to seizing wire. I'm not familiar with your spreaders and their configuration at the tips, but it shouldn't be a big problem to drill the tiny holes required for monel seizing wire.

The idea in securing a shroud to the spreader is not to set it firmly in place, but to simply hold it there so that it can't ever come out of the slot when, say, the lee shrouds go slack when sailing upwind. The shroud is always going to move a little as the wire stretches and contracts a small amount according to tension and temperature, etc., so it needs to be able to move freely over the spreader tip.