Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

A forum for discussing boat or trailer repairs or modifications that you have made or are considering.
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beene
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by beene »

I use 2 brass 1/4 " pins on my spreaders

From the trailer position:
- unpin mast from pulpit
- walk mast back to mast foot
- pin mast
- pin spreaders in position while standing in the cockpit
- attach MRS
- raise mast

From the rigged position
- use MRS to lower mast
- remove spreader pins and bungee the spreaders to the mast
- unpin mast foot and move to bow pulpit and pin in trailer position

G
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by K9Kampers »

Neo wrote:"MAC DANCE"... It's when you're hold the mast and trying to push/roll it back but the spreaders hit the stanchion so you have to step left and right to get one spreader at a time around each stanchion ...
For a long time, I've been wanting to add the pelican clips to my lifelines but haven't yet done so. I've become quite adept at doing the Mac Dance - on the trailer, on the water, at the dock, at anchor, adrift, and while underway. I like to play 'You Should Be (Mac)Dancing' by the Bee Gees while doing so. 8)
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BOAT
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by BOAT »

The best MRS I ever saw was an old guy in San Diego with an X boat. He used a block and tackle thing with a triangle shaped plate attached to two baby stays to raise the mast. No gin pole - no winch - and the whole thing fit in a shoe box. It was just a lot of rope with a couple of compound pulley blocks. The guy was like 80 years old and the way his system worked the spreaders were about 4 inches shorter so he never had to mess with getting over the stanchions. He just rolled the mast back - clipped on his gadget, and up went the mast.
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by Alexis »

BOAT wrote:The best MRS I ever saw was an old guy in San Diego with an X boat. He used a block and tackle thing with a triangle shaped plate attached to two baby stays to raise the mast. No gin pole - no winch - and the whole thing fit in a shoe box. It was just a lot of rope with a couple of compound pulley blocks. The guy was like 80 years old and the way his system worked the spreaders were about 4 inches shorter so he never had to mess with getting over the stanchions. He just rolled the mast back - clipped on his gadget, and up went the mast.
Wow... you have my attention! Do you have any picture, or could you make a drawing to illustrate the contraption?

I started with the gin pole and the genoa winch, then modified the gin pole to be able to step the mast from the deck (to not being in the cockpit under the mast) I it way better but I am still not entirely satisfied because of the great amount of tension in the hoist line... I am all ears and eyes for any better solution!
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by BOAT »

Alexis wrote:
BOAT wrote:The best MRS I ever saw was an old guy in San Diego with an X boat. He used a block and tackle thing with a triangle shaped plate attached to two baby stays to raise the mast. No gin pole - no winch - and the whole thing fit in a shoe box. It was just a lot of rope with a couple of compound pulley blocks. The guy was like 80 years old and the way his system worked the spreaders were about 4 inches shorter so he never had to mess with getting over the stanchions. He just rolled the mast back - clipped on his gadget, and up went the mast.
Wow... you have my attention! Do you have any picture, or could you make a drawing to illustrate the contraption?

I started with the gin pole and the genoa winch, then modified the gin pole to be able to step the mast from the deck (to not being in the cockpit under the mast) I it way better but I am still not entirely satisfied because of the great amount of tension in the hoist line... I am all ears and eyes for any better solution!
The guy was in a local mac gregor club here in San Diego - they used to have a lot of members and a lot of them were original Venture owners who still had the Venture boats so they name their club the Venture Yacht Club - I can't remember his name and I never talked to him - I just saw him raise the mast - I am a member of the club but only recently and I have never been active - their numbers seem to dwindle since the "MAC CAPSIZE INCIDENT" in San Diego bay that happened years ago. I notice that most of them do not even sail Mac Gregors anymore so I sort of walked away from the club - but as I recall I think his name was Marv Berry? I think he has passed by now and the club used to have videos of him raising the mast - but I can't find any on You Tube. I think most of his videos pre-date You Tube. They changed their site too and I can't find any vids their either. Try their web site or search on the info I have given to see what you can find - I would love to see that video again.
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Neo
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by Neo »

beene wrote:From the trailer position:
- unpin mast from pulpit
- walk mast back to mast foot
- pin mast
- pin spreaders in position while standing in the cockpit
- attach MRS
- raise mast

From the rigged position
- use MRS to lower mast
- remove spreader pins and bungee the spreaders to the mast
- unpin mast foot and move to bow pulpit and pin in trailer position
That's pretty much what I do too but do you have lots of scratches on your Mast from the spreader and bracket hitting it?
My mast is relatively new and I like to keep it as scratch free as possible. I also like to see the whole deck neat a tidy. But for my eyes that's just not possible while the spreaders are on the deck. :)
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by Divecoz »

The Cost Of SS Parts and Pieces is a common concern... Here is a supplier I have used for a number of years.. http://www.marinepartdepot.com/shackle.html No association with them other than.... I buy most of my SS needs wants and desires from them..
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by Divecoz »

BOAT wrote: their numbers seem to dwindle since the "MAC CAPSIZE INCIDENT" in San Diego bay that happened years ago. I notice that most of them do not even sail Mac Gregors anymore .
So I looked this accident up ( Yes Google is still my friend ) and found it to be operator error .. Yet you say many sold their boats because sailing them with TEN people aboard isnt safe ? Hummmm But there was another roll over a few years back and IIRC it was somewhere in New York on the 4th of July an even more ridiculous number of people aboard an X maybe an M and they had no water ballast..
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by gyroplanes »

Being old and feeble, the MAC dance was the worst thing about trailering and is what lead me to leaving my :macx: on the hard at the marina all winter (which cost a lot more than SS hitch pins)( by the way, the price is for two as I read it)

My SS source is McMaster Carr https://www.mcmaster.com/stainless-stee ... hitch-pins.

I did the removable spreader mod but didn't carry it through by pinning the spreader tips. Foolishly, I left the spreaders attached to the shrouds and lost the real advantage of a complete disconnect.

If I bring my boat home next month, I probably will do the complete spreader disconnect as I want to be able raise the mast with as little "dancing" as possible.

I have been playing with a system for mast raising that makes it nearly effortless, but that is the subject for another thread. (if anyone is interested)
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by Neo »

Look forward to seeing your post on this ;-)
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by BOAT »

gyroplanes wrote:Being old and feeble, the MAC dance was the worst thing about trailering and is what lead me to leaving my :macx: on the hard at the marina all winter (which cost a lot more than SS hitch pins)( by the way, the price is for two as I read it)

My SS source is McMaster Carr https://www.mcmaster.com/stainless-stee ... hitch-pins.

I did the removable spreader mod but didn't carry it through by pinning the spreader tips. Foolishly, I left the spreaders attached to the shrouds and lost the real advantage of a complete disconnect.

If I bring my boat home next month, I probably will do the complete spreader disconnect as I want to be able raise the mast with as little "dancing" as possible.

I have been playing with a system for mast raising that makes it nearly effortless, but that is the subject for another thread. (if anyone is interested)
The best one I saw that did not require sawing off part of the spreader or making the spreaders detachable or (as in my case) making the stanchions detachable was by a guy who like to use his X boat as a travel trailer for camping as well as a power boat and a sailboat and he wanted to be able to sit in the cockpit comfortably when the mast was down.. He extended the mast crutch so high up in the air that the spreaders cleared the lifelines. He said it mad raising the mast much easier too because the mast was already near the point of most resistance where he was starting from. It also eliminated the need for a mast crutch in the middle like a lot of us use (myself included) because the mast did not bend as much on bouncy roads. I think that would probably be the best start to a new mast raising system - get the mas way up high on the aft crutch so the spreaders clear everything on deck. It would also be nice to eliminate the baby stays (they are a hassle) but I have not figured out how to do that yet but I think Tomfoolery designed a single spar method where the baby stays are replaced with a single spar going from the mast hound to the stanchion. I thought that might be a good idea because the spar could double as a whisker pole. I also wanted to modify my MRS gin pole so it could replace my center crutch during trailering.
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by apsaunders »

BOAT,
Did you ever post your stanchion mod? If not, could you post a picture and details? We have an :macm: and your solution sounds like a great idea.
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by BOAT »

I never did and pictures of the boat even close up do not reveal how it's done because you really can't tell the stanchions are cut. I will try to get some pictures the next time I uncover the boat - it's covered for the month of October because we are busy for that month. You get the parts to do it from West Marine - all you need is a the round SS bar from WM - they sell them and it fits right inside the stock stanchion - I cut the stanchion right about in half and then slid in the stainless bar into the cut stanchion and slide the other half right over it. When you release the pelican hooks the stanchions pull right off the boat. I will get pictures.
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by Divecoz »

BOAT wrote: You get the parts to do it from West Marine - all you need is a the round SS bar from WM - they sell them and it fits right inside the stock stanchion - I cut the stanchion right about in half and then slid in the stainless bar into the cut stanchion and slide the other half right over it. When you release the pelican hooks the stanchions pull right off the boat. I will get pictures.
I tried WM.com and they dont offer SS Rod or SS Bar SS Round Stock
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Re: Detachable Spreaders - No tools required

Post by BOAT »

It's in the rail fittings section.


https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-mar ... ecordNum=3


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