DaySailer.org Forum

Hi all, I'm new to sailing, just picked up a 1982 Daysailer II. Looking at the spreaders, I can't figure out if these are standard, or if they've been modified by past owners. I searched the Daysailer II forum section for spreaders, I see some people are recommending replacing with D&R 1/2" spreaders. If it's already 1/2" aluminum, is it ok, or is there anything I should be concerned about, with the base or otherwise?

Thanks for the guidance,
Austin

Welcome to the forum! You picked a good boat to start sailing with.

Going from memory, I think the wall thickness of the tubing that D&R Marine's heavy duty spreaders are made of is thicker than the stock ones. The inner ends are also formed into a square shape, so there's more contact surface riding on the spreader brackets than with the stock round inner ends.

Something you should definitely check is the wire thickness of the sidestays and forestay. My 1980 DSII came with 3/32 wire, which was standard back then. This has been known to break, which can cause a dismasting. D&R Marine sells pre-made stays in 1/8-inch wire.

Welcome Austin!

The heavy duty spreaders are good, but what you have there looks fine too. Only thing I would change is the way the wire is wrapped around the shrouds. You'll want to use some thinner stainless steel wire, and try to confine the wraps closer to the spreader ends. Then you'll want to either use some rigging tape or spreader boots on the ends to prevent them from chafing/damaging your main sail.

Have fun with your new toy! I had a '79 DS2 for 11 years and loved that boat.

Edit: Alan beat me to the rigging thickness upgrade suggestion! ;-P

Rigging tape is self-amalgamating tape. You may have to slice it off, to get it off again, but it doesn't deteriorate of leave a gunky mess. In an application like that, you can leave it in place and not worry about it for years.

The way the wire should look before wrapping it with the tape is that there are two neatly wound sections of wire, extending for about 1/2" from the spreader, with the wire so tightly wound that there's no space between windings.

Sorry for the delay, thank you so much for the advice and insights! This seems like a wonderful community. Really excited about the boat.

I took your suggestions and used a smaller diameter wire to attach it to the shroud, and we made some spreader boots. I forgot to measure the spreader length, I'll do that when I get back to the boat this week. Does the line that the shrouds make look ok in the picture? Doesn't look like the spreaders are too short?

All the best,
Austin

Hard to tell from that pic, as the spreaders sweep back and slightly up. According to the DS bylaws, the spreader length is optional, but the ones DR Marine sells are 21-1/4".

Yes keep the safety wire on the spreaders tight. If they slide out of position while trailering you can bend of break a spreader at the base when raising the mast. I just broke one last week. I made a repair but ordered a new one anyway. It's a good idea to check the positioning before raising the mast. I've made spreaders from Home Depot 1/2" aluminum but it's very soft and bends too easily but would work if in a pinch.

Enjoy!

Carl