Pivoting spreaders on wooden mast (good or evil)

[jary]

Hi all

After reading and re-reading Brian's book several times I finally got up the nerve to drop my mast and re-rig my 25' double ended cutter 'Gemini'.

I'm now trying with some limited success to get the tuning correct.

The mast is a wooden spar with double wooden spreaders. The upper spreaders are taking a backward angle to the mast. The spreaders are on single pivot bolts allowing them to move. The angle of the spreaders seems to be increasing the mast bend .. I have been informed and since found a reference to the single pivot bolt on spreaders allowing them free for/aft movement being a bad idea (and dangerous to the mast). The reason given is the mast can keep bending forward and the spreaders moving back ending with a broken mast.

The upper spreaders have aft led intermediates which as far as I can understand (which is not always that far) should stop this forward pumping of the mast.

Can anyone in the group tell me if this is the case? I've seen several wooden masts with this single bolt set up. Should I set them in place with a bracket or second bolt to keep them strait and stiffen the mast or could this result in broken spreaders and a mast over the side?


Jary Nemo (Gemini)
Melb Australia