by GreenLake » Sat Jun 07, 2014 1:54 pm
I have the old Javelin design for spreader brackets on my DS and those have the pin very close to the mast, so the holes are very close to the end. I did get correctly drilled replacement spreaders when mine broke some time ago only to see them fail immediately.
Now, what I did the first time the spreader broke right across the hole was to make an emergency "repair" so I could get back on the water right away. Realizing that spreaders are loaded on compression, I figured the task of the repair was to hold the remaining spreader to the bracket, but that any "give" in any other direction was fine.
I had black tape and zip ties to work with.
I cut a length off the "tail" of a couple of ties, threaded them through the bracket and taped them to the spreader. (Essentially replacing the last fraction of an inch of spreader near the mast with a U of Nylon). That repair done, I set out for a test run. Worked fine. Replaced that a week later with the "proper" replacement to see them fail again one day when raising the mast.
Repeated my "repair" right then and there. That was several seasons ago, and I've not bothered to improve on the improvisation in any way.
Yes, it's unorthodox, but it's actually more resilient during rigging and transport, because if the spreader gets a knock in any direction where it's not designed to take the load, the U is not a "stiff" hinge and will give a little. Meanwhile, when loaded under sail, as long as the spreader rests against the pin, it will take all the compression loads that are being transmitted by the rig.
Given that, I probably would cut off a bit off the end of the spreader, just short of where the holes would go. I would create two slots, instead of holes, for the pin to go in, and I would rig a strap that threads behind the pin and is attached to the spreader and which has the purpose to keep the pin in the slots. This strap is only needed when there's no load on the spreader, that is, to hold it up during transport, rigging and when it's on the lee side (and the spreader comes unloaded).
The reason I would do this, is because of stray bending loads that the rig can experience when transported or during rigging/de-rigging. My experience is that these occur on land and that the original spreader design (or the Javelin version that were put on some model years - per Rudy) is simply too rigid to handle them, leading the spreader to break at the attachment point. Allowing some flex to the joints is the answer, and doesn't compromise their intended task.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~