Spreader Replacement

[mikemak]

Hey All -

Has anyone had to replace their spreaders?  I find myself in that predicament and was wondering if I should go with factory replacement or aftermarket?  I am new to sailboat ownership and any thoughts would be appreciated.

Regards,

Mike

[GlennB724]

well, I was in a similar situation two weeks ago.  When raising the mast getting ready to launch Dog Watch, I forgot to double check the spreader alignment, and sure enough, in handling they had been pushed down the shrouds; so that when I raised the mast, the spreaders bent down at the ends attached to the brackets.  I lowered the mast, and was able to bend one back to close to straight, but when I tried to fix the other, it broke at the hole that the clevis pin goes through.  Well, I figured that nothing ventured, nothing gained; so I borrowed a drill with a 1/4" bit from the marina, drilled another hole as close as I could to the original, which left the spreader about 3/4 shorter than it was, and tried it. It seems ok for now, but I'll replace both over the winter.  My advice is if you can't fix yours, call Woody in the parts dept. at Hutchins... great guy and he will take care of you.