E27 Broken Spreader Bracket

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Hi Mark. Not yet. I called a couple weeks ago and everything was at the anodizers. I probably need to call again. Luckily I am on the hard and am missing the great sailing weather anyways!

Doug
 

Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Hi Doug,

I stopped at Ballengers today hoping to see our mast collar/spreaders. Buzz said they should be back from the anodizer tomorrow (tuesday) and that he would be getting them shipped right-a-way. I guess you will see them before I do ;-). please post a photo when you get the parts.

Thanks.
 

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Spoke to Ballengers today about the spreaders. Looks like they are back from the anodizers but it sounds like they still have to flojet the mast collar. So you may have a little more time to make another trip!

At any rate I will definitely post photos when I get them.

Doug
 

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
I received the spreaders, spreader bar, repair plates, rivets and a mast base plate from Ballengers. They look amazing. I test fit the repair plates and they seem to fit well, although the rectangular openings need to be enlarged to fit the spreader bar. Its going to require quite a bit of fiddling to get it all installed, but overall I am pretty pleased with it.

Here is a photo.

DSC_0042.jpg
 

Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Hi Doug,

The spreaders look great. I like the reinforcement collars. Will you have to drill into the bar to keep the spreaders from compressing the mast?
 

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Hey Mark- Yes they provided 4 bolts to secure the spreaders to the bar. I need to call them to determine the configuration of the bolts. I am assuming that I put them in line with the spreaders, but there is enough room to put them side by side if thats the way to go.

Anyway, this is a project for a little later. Right now I am working on painting the topsides while the weather is relatively warm and dry. Then I will start turning my attention to other more enjoyable items!

Doug
 

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Thought I would close this project out. The mast looked like this before the repairs started:
MastSpreader.jpg

I took the plunge and cut out a rectangular opening for the spreader bar with a jigsaw, then filed to fit. Not shown here but I rounded the corners to prevent cracks.
Boat009.jpg

Spreader bar in place
Boat007.jpg

And the repair plates dry fit. This took a lot of filing to get a tight fit.
Boat005.jpg



Plates and spreader bar in place using #10 screws and 5200.
boat073.jpg

Spreaders temporarily in place. It took hours of grinding then filing to get them to match the mast radius (thats ink, not a gap!)
boat071.jpg

Another shot of the spreaders
boat069.jpg


I am glad to be done with this project. I spent many hours planning and fretting over it. I still have a tiny amount of play in the assembly (it just did not want to tighten up all the way), but I figure I will live with it.:cool:
 

davisr

Member III
Doug,

You're spreaders from Ballengers look fantastic. Just wondering if you might clear up a few things for me, and for anyone else who might wonder the same thing in the future. Primarily I'm interested in the sizing of your spreaders. I spoke with an employee at Ballengers today. He said that their small and medium-sized spreaders had the following OD dimensions: Small (2 1/4 inches wide x 5/8 inch high); Medium (3 1/4 inch wide x 7/8 inch high).

The E25 OEM spreaders have the following OD dimensions: 3 inches wide x 7/8 inch high. I believe that the E27 dimensions are the same, and that the only thing that differentiates the two set-ups are the lengths of the spreaders (which thus account for the differences in the beam of the two boats).

At any rate, having stated the OEM dimensions to the employee at Ballengers, I was told that, more than likely, the medium-sized spreaders would be appropriate replacements. The employee added, however, that I would need to speak with Buzz Ballenger to confirm. If I had to guess, I would say that the spreaders in your picture are the medium-sized ones.

This brings me to my question.

A number of E25 owners and E27 owners have replaced their OEM spreaders/brackets with those manufactured either by Dwyer or by Kenyon/Rig-Rite.

http://www.dwyermast.com/items.asp?...=57&familyName=Spreaders+&+Brackets+(Airfoil)

http://www.rigrite.com/Spars/Kenyon_Spars/KENYON.html#spreader sections

Both of these companies recommend replacement spreaders that are smaller than the OEM-sized spreaders . I spoke with Dwyer today. The person on the phone said that DH2503 spreader (1.875 inches x 3/4 inch high) was designed for boats in the 25-27 ft range, and that the next sized spreader, the DH2580 (3 inches x 1 inch) was for boats in the 28-30ft range. Clearly, the DH2580 is closer in size to the OEM spreader (3 inches x 7/8 inch).

I was not able to speak with a human customer sales person at Rig-Rite, but their online information and the information that is provided in the EY.o thread (located here: http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?9788-E-27-broken-Spreader-Bracket) indicates that the Kenyon SP2.2 (1.88 inchs x 3/4 inch) is designed for boats in the 24-27 ft range, and the next size up, the SP3 (2.75 inches x 1 inch) is designed for boats in the 28 foot and above range. The website even listed the Ericson 28+ as boat suitable for the SP3. Note, however, that the SP3 is not even the same size as the OEM spreader (3 inches x 7/8 inches) for the Ericson 25 and 27.

It would seem that Dwyer and Kenyon/Rig-Rite would want to sell the larger-sized spreaders to E25 and E27 owners, not only because they are closer in size to the OEM spreaders, but also (and especially), because the larger spreaders are more expensive. Since they are not trying to sell these larger-sized spreaders, it seems that either they are mistaken or the OEM spreaders on the E25 and E27 are oversized.

I want to replace my E25 OEM spreaders/brackets with new ones that are the proper size. I'm comfortable using the smaller-sized ones recommended by Dwyer or Kenyon/Rig-Rite, since they are more affordable, but I first want to make sure that they are appropriate replacements.

What did you discover along these lines in your research prior to deciding to go with Ballenger?

Many thanks,
Roscoe

Ericson 25, #226
Charleston, SC
 

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bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Looks like I missed responding to this thread back in September. Sorry Roscoe! The short answer is that I talked directly to Buzz Ballenger and he said he was familiar with the mast section, and this is the fix he recommended. I did a lot of research into mast repair, but trusted Ballenger entirely on the spreader size, length and angle (canted up 5 degrees).

Doug
 
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