Adjusting Spreaders

[Sean Engle]

Two weeks ago I had my rig inspected. The only thing he told me I really needed to do was to adjust the spreaders so they are slightly angled up (they're 90 degrees to the mast right now).

He said to do that, I would need to slightly loosen my turnbuckles on the shrouds, adjust up the spreaders and then tighten back the turnbuckles. From the way it sounds, all I need to do is slightly loosen the outer shrouds, go up the mast, pop the boots, loosen it there, and then adjust up the spreader(s)....

Pretty stright forward...or so it sounds...

Has anyone done this - and can you offer any advice?

Thanks,
//sse

[Geoff Johnson]

I have been bedeviled by this problem. While it is easy to move the spreader tips up, the trick is to get them to stay up. They are held in place not by the attachment to the mast, but rather by the seizing wire wrapped around the shroud. Therefore, when you move them up, you should re-seize them or they will flop down when the shroud loosens on the leeward side.

[Sean Engle]

What's the best thing to reseize them with?

//sse

[Geoff Johnson]

I had my yard do it, but on my previous boat, I used SS wire. Monel would probably also work.