Spreader connector for my Orion 27

[maury]

I took over someone elses project and unfortunately never say the original piece which connected the spreaders so am backing into a solution.Pictures will show the inside of the spreaders and the piece which holds the shroud in place and mast connection point.

Based on these photos I assume I need a flat bar the shape of the end piece with a 180 degree rounded end. I measure the connector screw holes to be just under 11” apart. The end piece oval is just under 1-½”x1/2.

So that brings up a few questions:
1. Can the bar be hollow or does it need to be solid
2. Can it be either 316ss, aluminum or hard wood? If I can’t get 316 will regular stainless be ok.
3. I am assuming it would be a straight bar which I would drill to accommodate the single screws which connect it to each spreader. Does anyone have experience with my situation to confirm my assumptions. The end pieces are unique to each side which is why I question this assumption.
4. Since connector holes are a bit under 11” is a 12” piece sufficient or is it better to jump up and get an 18” or full potential length piece?
5. Once I have the piece can use loctite on the screw or is there a better way to hold mast screws such as grease?

I see shower type bars which might be the right size but they are all hollow. Having a hard time finding a solution but with better understanding of options it will hopefully be easier.

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by maury

I took over someone elses project and unfortunately never say the original piece which connected the spreaders so am backing into a solution.Pictures will show the inside of the spreaders and the piece which holds the shroud in place and mast connection point.

Based on these photos I assume I need a flat bar the shape of the end piece with a 180 degree rounded end. I measure the connector screw holes to be just under 11” apart. The end piece oval is just under 1-½”x1/2.

So that brings up a few questions:
1. Can the bar be hollow or does it need to be solid
2. Can it be either 316ss, aluminum or hard wood? If I can’t get 316 will regular stainless be ok.
3. I am assuming it would be a straight bar which I would drill to accommodate the single screws which connect it to each spreader. Does anyone have experience with my situation to confirm my assumptions. The end pieces are unique to each side which is why I question this assumption.
4. Since connector holes are a bit under 11” is a 12” piece sufficient or is it better to jump up and get an 18” or full potential length piece?
5. Once I have the piece can use loctite on the screw or is there a better way to hold mast screws such as grease?

I see shower type bars which might be the right size but they are all hollow. Having a hard time finding a solution but with better understanding of options it will hopefully be easier.

The bar must be solid .
The bar must be aluminium.

Point Nº3: Could be straight, to be sure, pint point the middle at the mast step , mark with a pencil, take a long bar with a level, rest it on the two marks you have made on the mast step, the bar should reach the two ends of the deck, toe rail , hopefully, the chainplates will be aligned with the ends of the bar, if not, it is a little more complicated, you should measure the angle from the end of the bar to the chainplate, swept back spreaders.

Point Nº5: with the bar in place, spreader by spreader, slide a spreader in the bar until made contact with the mast, see if the curvature of the spreader aligns with the contour of the mast, if it's straight it's straight, if it's not, the you need to mark with a marker the spreader and work the curvature.

The rest is , slide the spreader in the bar until made mast contact, mark a point in the spreader, drill a hole or two, two better, through the spreader and the bar, fit a pin and cotter pin.

[maury]

Your a gem Nieil, thankyou for a great easy to follow comprehensive answer..

So it was tricky and in the end they are both pretty close to center. It took 3 tries, improving my method every time to finally get a fairly accurate approximation.

Once I find the appropriate oval bar stock how far into the spreaders should I extend the bar. Old original hole is in just over 3”. Is there any significant strength benefit of going in much further? If I need to bend the aluminum along thin rounded edge will it bend pretty easily over a mounted steel edge with a hammer?