[Rhodes22-list] Spreader Failure

[Steven Alm]

>
>
> SPREADER FAILURE:
>
> It was a fantastic day!  Sunny and hot and winds 9-12.  Perfect!  Mary
> Ann, Judi and I were having a wonderful sail when all of a sudden...SNAP!
> WAWAZZAT!?  We looked around and decided it was extra loose line in the jib
> furling drum that let go and we just went on.  Sailed happily for a couple
> hours before we pulled into a bay and rolled up the sails, dropped the lunch
> hook and went for a swim.  From the water, I looked up and saw that the port
> upper shroud had popped out of the spreader boot!  That was the snap we
> heard but we sailed on anyway, unaware of the problem.  What a tribute to
> the over-built engineering of the Rhodes 22!!  We had a wonderful sail
> completely unaware that the upper shroud was off!!   I guess I have to add
> at this point that the captain was totally negligent in misdiagnosing the
> loud SNAP and not noticing this very important failure in the rigging until
> he was in the water swimming and looked up to admire the mast and...  OH, MY
> GOD!!
>
> So.....We motored back to the dock, captain cursing himself, and tried to
> inspect the spreader boot with binoculars but it was too close for the
> binocs to focus but the boot looked pretty mangled.  Is this an easy fix?
> Are spreader boots something that I can get my hands on easily?  I'm hoping
> not to have to order from GB.  We have a WM and another sail shop close and
> I'm hoping I can just drop the mast and replace the boot.  Yes?  Please,
> somebody say Yes.
>
> Slim
>
>