… My boat, a Passage 24 having a somewhat wider beam, dictated I would require new and longer spreaders. But how long should they be? I found all the information to make that determination from reading "The complete Rigger's Apprentice" by Brion Toss.
... It was obvious the most important thing, was to maintain correct angles between the upper shroud and the spreader. Calculations determined the length of the new spreader(s) to be 36".
With this knowledge, I obtained a 6' length of airfoil section from a local supplier. Having first cut it into 2 pieces of equal length, the trailing edge was then cut again on the diagonal to create the taper, starting at 16.5" from the end closest to the mast, reducing it from its original 3.25" width to 1.875" at the outboard end. The cut edges were then clamped, bringing them together and welded.
... I particularly appreciated the spreader ends used on the Vega, which were obviously designed to prevent spreader droop and so, I decided to replicate these in a larger size. These were fabricated from blocks of aircraft quality aluminum (6061 I believe).
… First, I drew up a sequence of operations for performing them. In order to assure accurate drilling angles, and cutting of the slot up the middle, these operations were all done while still in block form As well, I needed to make a pair of slug-nuts from 3/8” s.s. rod for the clamping bolts, used to grip the shroud.
... Only after all various operations were completed did I then go about grinding the ends to the desired shape. This was accomplished using a sanding disc in place of a saw blade in my table saw, along with hand filing and final hand sanding to my own satisfaction. You can see the results below.
... I have yet to decide on the finish ... will it be paint or anodizing? ... I'm leaning toward painting the rig myself, probably with epoxy type Bone, or Off-White paint.
- Component parts w/Allen-wrench
- Tip installed showing retaining screw and clamp bolt for shroud
- This is the completed spreader with tip installed.
