Spreaders not level and Trailer-landings

[mikeg]

Hi guys,

I went out for a great sail yesterday (winds 15-20, not a cloud in the sky), but noticed that, when looking at the boat head-on, the stbd. spreader is lower than the port one---- actually, the setup looks like a seesaw, the port spreader being on the upswing -so that they're opposed to one another, one more up than it should be, and the other lower than it should be (all things being equal/tuning issues notwithstanding), below horizontally level.

Any idea how to adjust this?  The boat's been sailing great, in some wonderful, strong winter winds...so I assume this isn't an urgent problem...

Also, we dryslip our Compac 19 on the trailer, in the marina yard after each daysail. But I think the past two times I've had her out, the boat has sat differently on the trailer each time when putting her away for the day.
The last time, all the weight seemed to be on the fwd end of the keel and there was actually daylight between the upper starboard trailer bunk and the hull. Yesterday the boat sat level on the trailer (both bunks touching hull), but when I climbed into the boat to do some odds and ends afterwards, the boat would tilt a few inches to whichever side of the boat I walked to.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong in landing the girl back onto her trailer?

So you have something to respond to, here's the situation; the last two times out I've been singlehanding, with no assist at the ramp--- so on retrieval, I line thr ttrailer up so I can see just a little of the forward section of the bunks our of the water, so that I can see that the alignment is right.
I attached the winch cable to the bow eyelet and begin hauling her in. When I hit major resistance, I back the trailer further into the water, and bring in more cable. I repeat the process maybe once more until she's hauled all the way onto the trailer. Alignment stbd/port shouldn't be a problem, as I'm manually lining her up piecemeal...but I'm wondering why she seems to be sitting forward on the trailer.

For the record also, my winch stand is about as low as it will go, and I run the winch cable under the bowcraddle (rubber thing that the forepeak butts up into against by the winch). I've been suspicious as to whether I should actually be running the cable above the bowcraddle and floating the boat all the way on while the trailer's still buried in water. I can't haul her in with the strap over the bowchock because there's too much tension when the bow's even a little bit out of water (too much weight on the cable/bow craddle).

This is a diatribe, I know, but any thoughts/ideas would be very appreciated.
Mike G.
s/v Freebird-  Alachua, FL

[pelican]

It sounds like the mast needs to come down for a look at your spreaders. They normally have a little free movement up and down , but not near as much as you describe. Something is bent, broke, loose or all of the above. You will need to take down the mast, repair the problem and re tune when the spreaders are set proper.

Trailer... Sounds like the boat is not on the trailer the same each time or something is loose and moving under the weight of the boat. Possibly a bent roller... Most boat yards have a sling and can lift boats off the trailer.  Lifting the boat up and and adjusting bunks and rollers is the best way to fine tune the trailer to the boat (IMO).  Get everything tight and make sure your rollers are in good shape without bends or breaks . Mark the trailer and get the boat back on the same way each time. This is difficult to diagnose without being there. Could be any or all of the above. Good luck !

Terry

[K3v1n]

When I bought my 19 last August the spreaders were off a bit from each other.
When I pulled her out and lowered the mast I found the speader mounts were loose. I tightened them up and just recently put the mast back up and it looks much better.


-Kevin

[mikeg]

Thanks guys. A little "been there, done that" from y'all really helps me. I'll use your suggestions to investigate/solve these issues. Best,
Mike

[JohnS]

The spreader tip is supposed to bisect the angle made by the shroud as it passes over the spreader tip. This means the spreader is under compression and it is quite important to the integrity of the rig.