RLAshworth spreaders and tips

These are, from left to right, 2 uppers which had one groove, from 1967. (Cal 36). I reused the original solid tips that looked like yours. The next 4 are the old lowers one broken tip, next to Doug fir temporary spars with tips I made out of a section of aluminum channel and cut off the rims, bent back around spar, drilled for wire through top and bottom lip, and ground grooves for shrouds. Last white one is off another boat, sent to me by lister that also machined a flat plate that embedded in the tip of the spar. Two rough cut sitka spruce upper shapes. But your spreaders are probably longer. If you remake spreaders be aware that like Chris Campbell says, the spars are not parallel to deck nor 90 to mast. Therefore they are cut slightly beveled to square up to mast when adjusted for square to shroud. Then we cleaned up our old top and bottom plates that attached to spars with through bolts and then fit into tangs on the mast. Be sure to label parts as you take off the boat.Helen Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Thanks for sending these over. Mine look a lot like the ones in the left of the picture. I’m still on the hunt for the tips. :) Thanks again! On Tue, May 28, 2019 at 4:29 PM Helen Horn he… [at] sbcglobal.net [Cal_Boats] <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > > > > These are, from left to right, 2 uppers which had one groove, from 1967. > (Cal 36). I reused the original solid tips that looked like yours. > The next 4 are the old lowers one broken tip, next to Doug fir temporary > spars with tips I made out of a section of aluminum channel and cut off the > rims, bent back around spar, drilled for wire through top and bottom lip, > and ground grooves for shrouds. Last white one is off another boat, sent to > me by lister that also machined a flat plate that embedded in the tip of > the spar. Two rough cut sitka spruce upper shapes. But your spreaders are > probably longer. > If you remake spreaders be aware that like Chris Campbell says, the > spars are not parallel to deck nor 90 to mast. Therefore they are cut > slightly beveled to square up to mast when adjusted for square to shroud. > Then we cleaned up our old top and bottom plates that attached to spars > with through bolts and then fit into tangs on the mast. Be sure to label > parts as you take off the boat.Helen > Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android > <https://go.onelink.me/107872968?pid=InProduct&c=Global_Internal_YGrowth_AndroidEmailSig__AndroidUsers&af_wl=ym&af_sub1=Internal&af_sub2=Global_YGrowth&af_sub3=EmailSignature> > > >

Looking at your nice photo, I am reminded of a cool feature of my other boat's spruce spreaders. My Cal 20 has tubular aluminum ones, but the Seafarer has wooden ones that are formed in a foil shape. I can't imagine that there would be any useful lift at sailboat speeds (displacement hull speeds), so maybe the intent was just to reduce windage by being aerodynamic. And they don't just taper uniformly--the forward, thicker edge is straight but the after edge, the thinner one, as a graceful curve to it. But whatever the concept, it's a cool touch and it makes them look like somebody had actually thought about them. Human touches are good. After I bought my Cal 20 in one corner of Michigan, I learned that it was a boat I had seen go past my dock many times in another corner of the state, and that I had known the first owner, a really good "old salt" sailor (he was a lot younger than I am now, but I was a lot younger then so he seemed really old). In any event, I was pretty sure it was the same boat. I asked around back where it had come from and a local guy sent me some photos of the first owner, the old guy, on the boat. In the background I could see the homemade gooseneck on the tiller extension that's still on the boat today. He had formed and machined it from sheet stainless and a big rivet, neatly and uniquely. It's a special honor to own the boat that was first owned by that really good, devoted sailor, and to see little examples of his handiwork here and there. Chris Campbell Cal 20 #1220, "Martha C"