Collision... shattered the end of my sprit.. Question about repair..

[Mark Hinrichs]

Well I did it, t-boned Timbo at the top mark yesterday.. all my fault.  We put a pretty good hole in his Viper, and shattered the tip of my prod. Collossal oops.. Sorry Tim..

I have hull #64, and it was rigged with the tack line running through a hole in the side of the prod an inch or so back from the tip. The line also then runs back out, through another hole opposite to the first and from there down to the bow U-bolt fitting. The tube shattered, but just back to where the holes in the sides of the prod were.  I can clean it up square and fit a cap to it like the newer boats.  Question: Are the tube sections the same between the two styles?

If they are, I can change to the "out the end" single line rig, right?  If I can, I am pretty sure that I can still get the full 190 centimeters.

Thanks in advance for your help...

Mark...

[Jeff Jones]

I repaired the tip of #60's pole.  Pretty easy to take it out of the boat, you could do so and take it to a local shop.

I just prepped and wrapped the tip with carbon.  Re-installed the plastic bushings and it was done.  Quick and easy...  you could do it yourself.

[Dave Nickerson]

Paul Zimmerman is best to answer this, but if you are going through the pole with 2 bushings and supporting it with a line to the bow eye strap, you have the older smaller diameter pole.  My understanding is that section is not strong enough to convert to "out the end".  The "out the end" poles are a bigger section.  Good luck with the repair.

[Kelly Bechard]

The spinnaker pole on the boats with the bow eye and line is different than the ones without the bow eye.

On the older boats it is a carbon tube 8'8" long, 2" diameter and 0.0984 inches (2.5mm) thick. I haven't figured out who makes a carbon tube those dimensions yet. Offshore Spars in Michigan can do a 1.75" tube and bring it up to 2" with an overlay.

[Darren Gilbert]

As an older boat owner, I'm curious, is it possible just to swap out an old pole for a new pole?  If not, what is preventing this from happening?

[Ben Steinberg]

new style pole is a larger diameter. 

[Olaf Bleck]

As an older boat owner, I'm curious, is it possible just to swap out an old pole for a new pole?  If not, what is preventing this from happening?

new style pole is a larger diameter. 

Put another way, it probably could be done but it would require installation of a new bow sprit "bearing", i.e. the fiberglass piece bonded into the bow through which the pole protrudes.  It would need to match the new pole diameter.

I imagine--having seen one cracked somewhat loose when I got t-boned--that this piece can be removed and a new one fitted in. 

I'm not sure how long it would take to get one from Rondar, but obviously you could build your own.

[Dan Tucker]

Forespar has told me they can make a new pole for the old boats. I spoke with them about it at Strictly Sail Pacific last year. Contact Bill Mosher billm at forespar.com C: 414.688.9979

[David Morse]

I agree with the Forespar approach.  I have had excellent luck with them in the past.

Oh and your starboard tack boatspeed this past weekend was wicked.  You guys rolled right over my overpowered booty.
Good luck with the fix.

[Drew Harper]

Mark,

You owe me another bottle of A?ejo :-)

[Mark Hinrichs]

OK, got it fixed, learned a few things..

I own #64, and  it has the old sprit..   Guess what... my pole was almost a foot longer than it needed to be..
So... I could have just cut off the fractured part, and "no harm no foul", moved along... But no,that would have been too easy, so I had my first experience with carbon fiber layup... 

It's all good...  just another bump in the road...

Mark

[Brian Bennett]

FYI, the original manufacturer, Fiberspar (Whareham, MA (508)  291 2770 could likely provide a well priced option for older boats. It would be possible to do away with the retracting sprit line if the laminates are increased. I am happy to investigate further for those who would like to consider this mod. A group order would be required as they are a production Windsurfer mast outfit (10 units min.), but the price would be pretty good on this basis.

Regards,

Brian Bennett

[Jay Harrell]

An option to do away with the nearly irreplaceable bow eye would be VERY welcome!  On my boat, the bow eye is already suspect and the pole was apparently broken and repaired by a previous owner - it's all holding up so far, but...

FYI, the original manufacturer, Fiberspar (Whareham, MA (508)  291 2770 could likely provide a well priced option for older boats. It would be possible to do away with the retracting sprit line if the laminates are increased. I am happy to investigate further for those who would like to consider this mod. A group order would be required as they are a production Windsurfer mast outfit (10 units min.), but the price would be pretty good on this basis.

Regards,

Brian Bennett

[Dave Nickerson]

Brian - this could make a lot of sense.  Do you feel that the bend characteristics of the larger diameter sprit could be duplicated?  These sprits are all holding up really well, but accidents do happen.  And Jay's right, that bow eye is very difficult to repair.  It would be good to have some spares around, but owners would likely have to fund them. 

If you're willing, please investigate further.  The Tech Comm would want a chance to review the proposed section, but that should be straight forward.  Guessing the hard part will be seeing if there is enough interest to support a group purchase.  We'd probably be interested.

[Dan Tucker]

Am I the only one who likes the sprit line to the bow eye? I know it's difficult to repair if ever needed, but I like how the pole height stays fixed and the pole doesn't bend under load.

How cheap would it be to have Fiberspar make up a batch? 10 poles is nearly 20% of the original boats, would we find enough owners who would want a spare? I'd like one , if the cost is reasonable (>$200??). Sounds like there might be 3 already.

Nice to see you active here again Brian! Thank you!  :)