Newbie sailboat (Oday 240) owner here and of course one of my lines snapped in a recent storm I wasn't prepared for and caused my boat to rub against the dock. I ended up losing my outboard to the water but the most concerning and difficult to fix problem right now is one of my spreaders got snapped off from the mast. It looks like a clean break from the mast. I have tried to research repairs to spreaders but haven't found a whole lot. I feel like it can be repaired but unsure who the best people to reach out to are. I have attached what the spreader looks like from an older picture. I am really hoping this doesn't mean I need a whole new mast. Just looking for some advice. Thanks.
Spreader Snapped from mast - Need Advice/thoughts
- Thread starter Learningthehardway
- Start date
I was a little frazzled but we did get one pic and I blew up the Spreader and damage to the mast from the first image.
Attachments
How was the spreader attached to the mast? Safe to assume that the hole in the mast came from from the spreader . . .
Yea
That is the key question
If that is a hole you might rethink this as a mast failure than a spreader failure. Sorry if that is a hole. That is not going to be an easy fix
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,752
Welcome to the SBO forum @Learningthehardway
Wish it was a better day for you.
you will need to get the mast down and work on it. It is not the end of the would but it is like a broken arm. It could be replacement/surgery/or a fix but you will not know til you get it down and inspected.
Till you get the mast down I would stabilize the mast as best as you can using the halyards to serve as shrouds to hold the mast in place.
Looking at the spreader on your deck, you should be able to tell if it yanked a piece of the mast off (a suspect) or just glue (less likely).
One way of the other this can be fixed.
Wish it was a better day for you.
you will need to get the mast down and work on it. It is not the end of the would but it is like a broken arm. It could be replacement/surgery/or a fix but you will not know til you get it down and inspected.
Till you get the mast down I would stabilize the mast as best as you can using the halyards to serve as shrouds to hold the mast in place.
Looking at the spreader on your deck, you should be able to tell if it yanked a piece of the mast off (a suspect) or just glue (less likely).
One way of the other this can be fixed.
It looks to me like the spreader bracket was glued to the mast. If that's the case, it would seem an easy fix, except, of course, that it's a mast and must come down.
If so, I might be tempted to do the other one over at the same time. And do some research on what others with this boat have experienced and done.
If so, I might be tempted to do the other one over at the same time. And do some research on what others with this boat have experienced and done.
@Learningthehardway
As a former dealer, if the picture where the spreader use to be is a large hole in the mast, @DougM is correct that the integrity of the mast has been jeopardized and needs to come down and replaced. Sorry but in my opinion the mast cannot be repaired but if you choose to repair it, expect a failure with the mast coming down injuring people on board. If you have insurance I would suggest filing a claim but first get that mast down
As a former dealer, if the picture where the spreader use to be is a large hole in the mast, @DougM is correct that the integrity of the mast has been jeopardized and needs to come down and replaced. Sorry but in my opinion the mast cannot be repaired but if you choose to repair it, expect a failure with the mast coming down injuring people on board. If you have insurance I would suggest filing a claim but first get that mast down
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,752
Maybe the spreader is salvageable. So much depends on what you see when you get it down on the hard. Slinging it down to the deck may tell you a lot.
When working with my rigger in 2016, he commented that a lot of boats (out of the 2000 in the marina) have uninspected rigging. Many are near failure but the owners do not know it. Certainly I suspected my rigging. Why I took the mast down and had a complete refit.
When working with my rigger in 2016, he commented that a lot of boats (out of the 2000 in the marina) have uninspected rigging. Many are near failure but the owners do not know it. Certainly I suspected my rigging. Why I took the mast down and had a complete refit.
You need to take a close look at the mast. A 24' O'Day is going to be a light-weight rig so take it down for sure. From the pics, it looks like the spreader and the ear yanked right out and it looks like it came out cleanly. That black area at the spreader almost looks like some kind of pad that was under the ear. It doesn't look like a hole to me ... can't really tell. The pic of the spreader shows the ear pretty plainly. It looks as if it was secured with some pretty simple fasteners through the mast wall. Perhaps the fasteners failed and the mast may be undisturbed. If screws or rivets were yanked out of the aluminum, depending upon damage, perhaps you can simply oversize the fasteners with some new clean holes through the mast wall. I wouldn't be leaping just yet until you can see if there is some obvious damage to the mast. The spreader and ear may not even be damaged.
Agree with ScottT. Brackets holding the spreaders are usually riveted to the mast, not glued. The "scab" edges that show on the photo of the broken spreader and bracket makes it look like someone tried to glue or fiberglass the fitting to keep it attached. Using slightly bigger fasteners should not make much difference to the mast, but would work to hold the spreaders on better. Take the mast down and have a look-see.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,752
Who ever did the weld, they may have weakened the mast.
This sounds like a fix was made to a damaged mast, and you are now seeing the reason mast welds are not recommended in areas of high stress.
All of the spreader attachments I have seen have been screwed (on big boats) or riveted to the mast (on smaller boats). A spreader serves as a place holder, held in place primarily by compression.
This sounds like a fix was made to a damaged mast, and you are now seeing the reason mast welds are not recommended in areas of high stress.
All of the spreader attachments I have seen have been screwed (on big boats) or riveted to the mast (on smaller boats). A spreader serves as a place holder, held in place primarily by compression.
Seems quite a bit more serious. Looks like total replacement to me.