Aluminum spreader bracket repair

Hi all,

After a years worth of fiberglass repair and reconstruction, I though my boat was ready to sail. I went to step the mast and discovered that one of the spreader brackets that attaches to the mast was cracked all the way through.

I tried applying a good amount of JB weld to the crack and let it sit for a week. The crack opened right up as soon as we moved the mast. The boat is a Ranger 22 made by Jensen. It's no longer in production and all the molds and parts were destroyed by the company that bought Jensen (no idea why but I'd like to strangle them). I've contacted all the spar and rigging shops I could find on the net and no one has the part.

So as best I can tell I have two options. Have it welded if you can weld extruded aluminum, or find some kind of metal that is strong enough to support the spreader but soft enough that I can shape it with a dremel and a file.

Having a one-off piece made by a machinist or fabricator is too much $, the setup charge I've been quoted for one piece is more than the boat is worth. So I come to this group asking for any advice, suggestions, or comments on my ideas. I know nothing about working with metal, so if I go with the welding route, which right now seems the most likely, what information should I make sure the welder is aware of? Are there questions I should ask to make sure it's a good job? Any help would be greatly appreciated! TIA!

Mike

 

Can you post a picture of the part? It's hard to recommend something without knowing what the part looks like exactly.

Welding of aluminium is not always possible. It depends on the alloy. Also if you weld aluminium the material returns to the annealed condition. It looses most of its strength. To get the strength back you have to heat treat it correctly after welding.

The best option is therefore usually to stop drill the crack. Use a suitable drill to remove the tip of the crack and to introduce a proper radius. The bigger the diameter of the drill the better. Then you have to bridge the crack with some new material. If there are existing rivet holes you can use them to rivet a piece of metal across the crack. Of course this might not always be possible.

 

Spreader sockets (that's the part you want) are produced in standardized sizes and shapes. This may require that you replace both sides and some adjustments, etc., but it's not as tough as you may think. Try looking through the products at > www.apsltd.com < (type in "Spreader" in their search box) where you'll likely find what you need or something that can be easily adapted.

 

Concur with PAR, if a standard socket doesn't fit the spreaders, make new spreaders, if it doesn't fit the mast-profile quite well, (but isn't way off) you can make an epoxy putty casting between the two.

Yoke.

 

I'd not opt for epoxy on the spreader repair (sorry Yoke) or in an effort to make it fit. There are plenty of dead boats around to steal parts off of. If you have trouble finding one, then drop me an email and I'll get one to you FedEx.