Spreader play

[cbrey]

Greetings.

I recently took posession of a 1982 Sabre 28 Series II, a single spreader sloop rig manufactured by a very reputable maker of production sailboats.

Working on replacing the running rigging with the mast down, I found that the inboard ends of the spreaders were sheathed in what appears to be 1/16" black neoprene rubber sheet wrapped in rigging tape. I removed the tape and rubber and found that the stainless steel spreader sockets had an inside diameter of 1 1/2", while the outside diameter of the spreaders, which are original, is only 1 5/16". Without the rubber and tape shims, the spreaders, as you can imagine, simply rattle around in their sockets, and even with the shims there is an appreciable bit of play.

I found two owners of S28's of the same vintage and model who confirmed that this had also been the setup they had found on buying their boats.

I'm trying to think of a reason why a good maker would deliberately design spreaders this way. The only reason I can come up with is the prevention of galvanic corrosion between the aluminum spreaders and the stainless steel sockets.

Is there any reason having to do with desirability of some slight spreader play from the standpoint of performance? Or should I just replace the rubber/tape kludge with some PVC pipe that fits snugly?

Thanks very much for your insights,
Carter Brey
New York City

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
First, I don't know that it was Saber that did this; sometimes boats leave the factory unrigged, and brokers or dealers will arrange for the rigging. And even if it did get rigged at the factory, I would doubt that this was a "designed" feature, more of a "these are the spreaders the sparbuilder sent, and these are the mast sockets we can put our hands on" feature. It's not a pretty arrangement, and not the kind of make-do that anyone would put up with on, say, an engine, or even a galley cabinet ó and now I find myself on the edge of beginning a rant about how rigging don't get no respect, so I'll just pause and take a deep breath...
That's better. Let's see, if the hardware is properly scaled to the loads, and if the leads out of the sockets are good, and there's no deformation, a tidier, snug-fitting alternative would certainly be a good thing. If the upper shrouds are able to take a fair lead from chainplates to masthead, a little play is fine.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss