Catana 411 spreader construction

[txg]

Hi there,


we are in contact with friends which have currently done about fourty percent of a pacific crossing from Panama to Marquesas. They are no beginners but this is their first longer crossing. Now they have a problem with their rig:



The Catana has diamond stays and a triangle spreader. The spreader legs are connected with two struts. Some days ago, one of these struts became loose. They managed to go up the mast in light winds and get it fixed, but now it got loose again and conditions are not as favourable as before.



Does someone have any idea about:



A. how is this construction built in detail? Are the connecting struts fixed with bolts? We can't help with a workaround fix without getting an idea of the construction.



B. We have no experience with catamaran rigs. How important are these spreader connections when running with wind angles of about 70 to 120 degrees and 15 to 20 knots of wind? Should they just keep on sailing or risk going up the mast again?



C. Am i correct in suggesting to reduce load on these spreaders for now by taking down the main and running under genoa only?

[44'cruisingcat]

I do think you're correct about dropping the main.

The forestay attachment is right next to the shrouds, so much of the forestay loads will transfer directly to them.

The mast will only have compression load, not the bending load the mainsail can apply.

[Palarran]

I don't know about the Catana construction but it's a French boat and so is mine and the design is similar. Palarran has 3 of these with the top one not having the full forward strut but one that bridges the two spreaders straight across. I do think it's important but not 100% critical. A double or triple reef shouldn't be too much stress. Those bars are just to keep the spreader from moving fore or aft. The bars are attached to the spreaders with a bold that is probably about 2 inches long.

In most likelihood your friends will have already fixed this by the time you get them any info. But if not, my suggestion is to find a bolt that will work for when the wind abates. If they don't have one, I'd start looking at all non-critical components and figure out where to get one.

[txg]

Originally Posted by Palarran

In most likelihood your friends will have already fixed this by the time you get them any info.

That's exactly the case, i just got a message that they went on a downwind course and managed to fix everything. Hopefully now this repair will be holding up.



But thanks for your information and the picture!