This wee epistle is a result of the discussion going on in the Newporter
40 Together site concerning spreaders. Hopefully this will give some idea
about installation. After you have studied this you may ask further
questions. Send me an email at camgphil@msn.com (put
Newporter on subject line).
The notch in the center of the big end allows the spreader to bear against the mast (the lower tang for the lower shrouds goes in the notch). The tips on the wide end wrap the spreader around the side of the mast. These tips are not really needed and for the last boats they were discarded. The base (wide end) was at 90 degrees to a centerline from tip to base. At some time during my days in the rigging loft the spreaders were made without the tips and the base was square to one edge. These spreaders were fixed to the mast with the 90 degree corner at the after (back) surface of the mast. The notch is still needed. Bob has just posted the measurements for the spreaders as Thickness = 1-1/2”; width, mast end = 7-5/8” (must equal the fore and aft measurement of the mast); Length = 52” (I’d measure that from the flat sections each side of the tang notch to just inside the notch in the outboard end for the shrouds).
Two flat bars are used to attach the spreaders to the mast. The drawing below gives the method I used to bend the bars to lift the outboard ends up above the inboard ends. The length of these flat bars were dictated by (for those of you who have the original spreaders) the flat edges on the inboard ends of the spreaders. This area has a small radius rounding of the corners (in proper fiberglassing technique) and the edges outboard of this flat area had a larger radius that made the edges almost half-round, with no flat area to back up the flat bars.
