Hi i bought a 1988 38-200 in August of 2018, the lower Port spreader is at an up angle 5 to 10 deg's over the Starboard. Can this be adjusted at the end and if so how...Shawn
I'd try a hammer. Hang out on a bosuns chair and whack the sucker down a little.
Facetious? (got the spelling right the first time). Only a little. My spreaders are close to horizontal, which worried me. The veteran surveyor didn't care. He said look around at other boats, it;s all compromise.
You might have to loosen the stay. And of course, next time out sailing check the mast is in column on all points of sail.
The lower spreaders should normally angle upward slightly. If the starboard spreader is not angled up slightly as it should be, it is possible that the spreader attachment plate that passes through the mast has shifted through the mast a bit to port. This can cause the port spreader to angle up while the starboard spreader is straight. I have seen this happen on an E34. If this is the case, simply shift the spreaders a little to starboard. Otherwise, do what Christian said and check the tightness of the 2 bolts at the spreader base. You will need to loosen both the upper and the intermediate shrouds on the port side and be mindful of wire lashings at the spreader tip. (i.e. remove the spreader boot if present in order to see what’s going on at the tip.)
Mike Jacker
When I climbed my mast last summer, I mistakenly stepped too far out on one of the spreaders and moved it a few degrees down. I found that the flanges on the mast that the spreaders screw into don't really limit the movement of the outside spreader ends. It was just the tension of the shrouds that fixed the outer ends of the spreaders.
I was able to simply slide the spreader ends back to the proper height by hand.