Replacement spreader

[underdog]

I have recently purchased a Hunter Medina 20. Unfortunately one of the spreaders is knackered. The mast is a Proctor mast and therefore it is unlikely that I will be able to find an exact replacement. I was wondering if it would be possible to make a replacement out of 10mm solid aluminium bar. I realise that this would be aproximately 50% heavier than the original hollow section spreader. Would this matter. I attach a photo of the offending item

 

[William_H]

I presume from the phiotos that you consider the spreader knackered because of corrosion damage at the inside end. You could consider cutting a bit off and having slightly shorter spreaders 10mm would not matter. Do the same to the other spreader. or perhaps it is damage at the outer end again you could shorten it a bit.
However back to your question. Yes solid ali would be ok. You would have a lot of shaping to do to get the outside profile the same as old one. yes it would be a bit heavier. That should not matter much. However should you replace the other side the same? I would tend to do the same on other side but I am not sure it would matter much having dissimilar spreaders. if it is a fractional rig just make sure socket is robust and spreader is strong in the fore and aft movement direction and tilted up a little. ol'will

 

[Daydream believer]

Why not make it from H30 (6082) tube.
Tube can be bought in any length from M-Machines & I find them competitive having used them in my model making & engineering work
M-machine

 

[Refueler]

As with DB .. I would go with tube ... no need to be tapered as per original ...

A kind word to a local Metals Workshop to flatten it to section without cracking ... or even talk to them - they probably have tube they can provide etc.

But as William .. if its just end damage .. an inch of each spreader will not make much difference EXCEPT on cap shroud adjustment ... the reason for spreaders are to stop mast bending to side when stays tensioned and to align the masthead... so a little shorter makes no odds at all.

 

[chriscallender]

I have recently purchased a Hunter Medina 20. Unfortunately one of the spreaders is knackered. The mast is a Proctor mast and therefore it is unlikely that I will be able to find an exact replacement. I was wondering if it would be possible to make a replacement out of 10mm solid aluminium bar. I realise that this would be aproximately 50% heavier than the original hollow section spreader. Would this matter. I attach a photo of the offending item

I replaced knackered round spreaders with aluminium tube a couple of years ago, no problem at all since it was more or less replacing like for like. I just went for the same diameter and thickness, more or less, and made some outer end pieces from solid aluminium in a lathe (of sorts).

I'm guessing for this one you'd use flat bar, and cut it to a similar shape in plan view. A bandsaw would be the business for doing that, but it should be possible with a jigsaw too. I don't see any reason at all that wouldn't work fine, as you say it will be heavier but in the overall scheme of things and compared to the weight of the mast and rigging that's insignificant and the good news is it will also be (much more than) 50% stronger - not that spreaders need to be particularly strong, they just need not to bend or collapse under slight compression, and keep on spreading.


Chris

 

[oldbloke]

Proctor we're taken over by Selden and production continued. I think it almost certain that you can get a new one without any difficulty

 

[Refueler]

When replacing such items ... actually I had to along with mountings when my Snadragon pulled out its forestay - I believe in replacing both sides, not just one. Similar to when replacing shocks on a car .. better as a pair.

 

[B27]

Shortening the spreaders would change the angle between the cap shroud and the mast.
This may be a Bad Thing!

I would expect replacement spreaders to be available from Selden.
Or you might find a longer second hand one?

 

[Snowgoose-1]

I replaced knackered round spreaders with aluminium tube a couple of years ago, no problem at all since it was more or less replacing like for like. I just went for the same diameter and thickness, more or less, and made some outer end pieces from solid aluminium in a lathe (of sorts).

I'm guessing for this one you'd use flat bar, and cut it to a similar shape in plan view. A bandsaw would be the business for doing that, but it should be possible with a jigsaw too. I don't see any reason at all that wouldn't work fine, as you say it will be heavier but in the overall scheme of things and compared to the weight of the mast and rigging that's insignificant and the good news is it will also be (much more than) 50% stronger - not that spreaders need to be particularly strong, they just need not to bend or collapse under slight compression, and keep on spreading.


Chris

I find that it's the spreader ends that may cause a problem . Either, unable to reuse the existing one's , or finding new ones. The round bar for mine was easily obtainable . In the end. I left the spreader ends soaking in diesel for a week. Fortunately, it worked.

 

[Refueler]

Shortening the spreaders would change the angle between the cap shroud and the mast.
This may be a Bad Thing!

I would expect replacement spreaders to be available from Selden.
Or you might find a longer second hand one?

Its only a bad thing if the shortening is significant ... but if its just a cm or so ... no problem. The concern is more the bottle screw and tension due to length.

 

[underdog]

Thank you all for your replies to my query
Having contacted 2 rigging experts without success I have now ordered some aluminium bar inorder to fabricate two new spreeaders. The photo I posted was of the undamaged spreader. Although the sugestion of round tube is a possibility I would have to change the method of attachement to to mast. Fortunately the end pieces which capture the shrouds are undamaged and have been extracted from the end of the spreaders. I feel confident that I can ,with a bit of patience, replicate the shape of the original.