sean olsen north attleboro, ma
Boat Name:
Model/Year: 1972?
Hull No.
Hailing Port: |
10/12/2009 5:21 AM Pacific Time
i was taking my catalina 22 out for her first sail yesterday after a summer of work and the damm spreader bracket broke!! im very disheartened. i have the old alluminum kind. any advise of replacing and making this stronger than the original. whats the deal with these compression sleves? do the old boats have them? im going to have some stainless brackets made at my local metal shop. i think i would like to have a few more through bolts as it looks like mostly sheet metal screws. any advise is greatly appreciated.
thanks
sean |
Peter South Daytona, Florida
Boat Name: (Working On A Name)
Model/Year: C-22, 1974
Hull No. 2679
Hailing Port: South Daytona, Florida |
10/12/2009 7:16 AM Pacific Time
Sean, did you see the SS spreader brackets from CD?
http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=477
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sean olsen north attleboro, ma
Boat Name:
Model/Year: 1972?
Hull No.
Hailing Port: |
10/12/2009 3:32 PM Pacific Time
will those work on the old masts? early 70s oval shaped. do i need a compression tube? there is no through bolts at all on my current bracket. this seems very week. |
Glenn Warner Jacksonville Florida
Boat Name: Goblin/JuJu
Model/Year: 1981/1972
Hull No. 10369/1222
Hailing Port: Jacksonville Florida |
10/13/2009 4:12 AM Pacific Time
Sean, No need to reinvent the wheel. Get the brackets from CD. They have them for both the old and new style masts. Included with them is a compression tube. Fairly simple to install the only challenging part is positioning the compression tube inside the mast. I have done this upgrade on two masts. Once I taped the compression tube to a length of PVC pipe that I marked for length before putting it inside the mast. Once the through bolt was put through it I pulled the PVC out breaking the tape. The other time I used a 16 foot tape measure and used basically the same tech. Either way, or I am sure many other techniques, can be used without too much difficulty. Be sure to use the teff gel (sp) that is also included with the bracket to isolate the stainless from aluminum parts. For anybody else who is still sailing their boats with the old cast aluminum spreader brackets, inspect them closely and frequently until you replace them. But do replace them sooner rather than later or you may be replacing a mast as well. |
sean olsen north attleboro, ma
Boat Name:
Model/Year: 1972?
Hull No.
Hailing Port: |
10/13/2009 5:34 AM Pacific Time
thanks alot glen. sounds good. |
Boat Name:
Model/Year:
Hull No.
Hailing Port: |
10/13/2009 6:53 AM Pacific Time
After breaking about 5 aluminum brackets on an old oval mast, I went with the CD stainless and they are fine. Compression sleeve is not that difficult to get in, and once its in you are set and don't have to worry about the spreaders anymore.
Tom Beaumont
Quixotic #7555
Chesapeake |