Annapolis Rigging Spreader Bar Kit

I received my spreader bar kit from Annapolis Rigging today. I will try to post some photos of it. The kit consists of a beefy aluminum thru mast spreader bar, port & starboard mounting plates and a bag of 1/4" pop rivets.

Rob, please send me the contact details at Annapolis Rigging. Thank you.

Koos - you can also contact Cory Butlin locally at Hall Spars (401.253.3964). They did the thru-bar fix on Rhapsody a few years back. See this thread: http://j30.us/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/3125/Spreader_thru_bars.htm

Bill

A photo of the spreader kit can be viewed at http://sailnordicstar.blogspot.com/

Rob and Bill thank you both for the information. I am in the process of refurbishing the mast and boom so this is a good time to get it done. Has anyone bought a J/30 running rigging from http://www.cajuntrading.ca/index.htm ?

Rob

please let me know if the bracket holes of annalpolis kit are in the same place as the original brackeet ones. it would make sense that they are so no new holed have to be drilled in the mast for the bracket (just a slot for the bar)

Also what is the trick with the halyards...how do you keep them on the correct side of the bar when you install it-- and whoch side is that, for or aft?

And, do the old spreaders slide onto the bar neatly?

I would like to have a sketch of the crossbar and the plates. I have access to a cnc plasma cutter and aluminum and stainless steel metal and would like to see if I can duplicate them. If so I think I could save our J-30 owners some money on these kits. Seems like $400 is alfully hihg for what ive seen on the phioto of these items. If you are willing to send me a scetch of these items let me know.

I spoke to Jay Herman at Annapolis Rigging today. He confirmed that the holes in the new plates match the holes in the mast from the original spreader brackets. Jay recommended installing the new plates and using them as guides to cut the slots. He also said all the halyards, wires, etc should go aft of the thru bar except the topping lift which can go forward if desired. The bar goes thru from the port side so you would use a wire inserted thru the starboard slot to keep the halyards aft of the thru bar. The original spreaders slide onto the bar and Jay recommends they be through bolted with two 1/4" bolts per spreader. Use of the original spreaders is an advantage I see over the Hall kit.

[This message has been edited by Rob Van Name (edited 12-06-2007).]

Is there any attachment of the brackets to the thru-bar once installed, or does it have a "tight fit" to the hole in the brackets? Seems like with a bend in the bar, and close clearance with the bracket hole, its going to be hard to feed the bar through 2 brackets plus the mast wall thickness on both sides?

Comment from someone who has done this?

I've posted some shots of the spreader thru bar installation at my blog http://sailnordicstar.blogspot.com/. It took about 6 hours to install one bracket with 2 trips to ACE hardware ( drill chuck key went over the side early on )...

[This message has been edited by Rob Van Name (edited 01-01-2008).]

Rob - just looked at the pictures on the blog. The picture with the plate removed shows old holes that appear to be elongated. Did that interfere with drilling the new rivet holes?

No that was an instance of my poor mechanical skills. The drill wandered and it was a struggle to get the old rivets out. I'm using a center punch on the port side. The new plate matches the old holes exactly.

Does thru bar have a tight fit or are there pins to keep it in place?

also, your blog is down, do you think you could post pics to this forum when you get a chance?

many thanks

I completed the installation tonite. Check http://sailnordicstar.blogspot.com/ for some more photos and commentary.

Great job fitting the thru bar on Nordic Star. Do you have a contact person at Annoplis Rigging Company for the thru-bar spreader kit?

The contact person at Annapolis rigging is Jay Herman. His cell number is 410-493-9522.

Completed my spreader fix this weekend, overall a success but thought I would add some notes about differences I encountered:

-my bar was marked to insert from STBD > PORT; everything I read had said the opposite

-my bar was NOT marked for centering, we had to just play with it to get it right

-the up-swept angle of the two sides of the bar was not the same on both sides. When we got things together we could see that things were not the same on both sides and at first were blaming this defect. However, once we did some math we realized that the angle difference observed was more than could be account for by the defect. Upon further inspection we realized that a bit of the mast needed to be filed; it was forcing one side higher than the other. Once we did this the angles were acceptable.

-we had problems with the riveter at first (bought a Big Daddy riviter off ebay for the job). Once we figured it out what was wrong (user error), things went great. But I'm waiting on a few more rivets from Annapolis Rigging to finish the job.

-having the Big Daddy riviter was nice, if anyone wants to borrow it just let me know and I could ship it out. It fears no 1/4" rivet.

-for a $500 or whatever it was bit of metal work, they really should include some detailed instructions.

Overall I'm happy with the job. REALLY hated cutting all that material out of the mast though. I assume no one has had any problems with hard-driven J/30s with the Annapolis Rigging kit, so maybe its all in my head.

Finally, I just noticed on this thread that the topping lift was supposed to be run IN FRONT of the spreader bar instead of behind - I ran everything behind - anyone know if this will be a problem?

-dan

Bumping an old thread... I have the mast down on NH again and would like to modify the spreaders. Being in Canada, the kit from Annapolis is going to take too long to get and we do have the means to fab up our own. Does anyone have any line drawings or dimensions? I probably can measure the angles on the existing spreaders and attempt something myself, but it would be easier to work from a pre-existing design.

The other option is I just weld on a collar across the front of the mast.

Thanks!

I should actually do this too when I next have the stick pulled. What's the best option these days? I'm assuming the riggers listed in the article all sell kits that my local yard can install?

Alex,

That article is almost 20 years old and some of those places are no longer in business. I know you can contact Corey Butlin at Hall Spars or Annapolis Rigging. I would definitely get this done if your boat has not got the fix installed.

Corey Butlin has experience in the class, but don't worry Jay Herman's Annapolis Rigging is doing fine 20+ years later. He sleeved my boom for the second time last winter and re-knurled my old winches. Likewise Bob Muller with six or seven J/30s including Bebop in his yard this winter. He may know as much about repairing our boats as anyone excepting maybe Bill K himself.

I noticed my starboard upper shroud was unusuallly loose on port tack last Friday night beer can race and that the port spreader was pointing a few extra degrees aft. When we got back to the dock it was obvious that the port spreader was loose at the mast as it could be moved back and forth a few degrees by shaking the upper shroud. Dodged a bullet I guess.

After going up the mast I found that the port side spreader bracket had cut through the aft edge of the spreader and the retaining bolt was broken. Further inspection of the spreader brackets on the mast showed a small crack forming at the leading edge of where the 'tang' meets the bracket base. I guess it's time to do the spreader through bar fix. Today drilled out the rivets and removed the spreader brackets to check the condition of the mast under the brackets. Mostly good, although there appears to be a small crack between the forward 3 holes on the port side. Thanks rob for the tips on the ladder and the punch for the rivets.

I'm curious about other's experience with the Annapolis kit vs. the hall spars kit as it looks like will need to replace at least one spreader. The Annapolis kit uses the OEM spreaders and the hall kit comes with new spreaders. Neither one is in stock and I'm still waiting to hear how long it will take for the them to have a kit made. Pulling my mast is a ridiculously expensive thing to do here in Honolulu and I had planned to do it at my next haul out next year. Has anyone had cracks visible and not welded them? How much trouble am i asking for if I install the hall kit without pulling the mast and reevaluate the condition of the cracks when I pull the mast next year?

Has anyone done the hall spars kit without pulling their mast?

I'll try to add some photos later.



Thanks

Erik


#185 Mango Madness

Erik,

Have you considered constructing a gin pole that would allow you to pull the mast? I know John McArthur used one for J/30 Smiles when he trailered his boat. It may save you some $ over having the rig pulled with a crane. You'll need a few people to help pull the rig, but it will then allow you to more easily fix everything you want.

I just bought the last kit that Annapolis Rigging has, FYI.

I asked Jay to let us know what it would take to make more. Perhaps a group order next time. I'll update this thread when he gets back to me.