Untimely mistake

[dstgean]

Graham and others,

I must admit with embarrasment :oops: that my sprit is about a foot and a half shorter than it should have been. Twelve feet long gets it out past the mast by over a foot while horizontal, but crank it up to 5'6" over the dounhauled tack and I'm short.

After making this double tapered round douglas fir spar, I'm back in the spar making business. After hearing what Charlie Jones did for the Princess 22 sprits, I'm going to do the same. Laminate up a few clear, straight boards, plane them square, router the edges with a quarter round bit, and seal it with epoxy.

What sort of section should I use? Is two inches too small? 2.25"? My sail is 128 square feet with an 11' foot.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Dan

[dstgean]

What sort of hook, snap shackle, or other hardware are you using for the main sheet attachment?

Also, what kind of cleat are you using for the sprit? I have a 3:1 tackle that will send the line back down the sprit.

[dstgean]

I guess that should have read snotter cleat ON the sprit.

[Frank Hagan]

Hi Dan,

I don't know the math involved, but I think a 2" diameter spar would be plenty strong in straight grained Douglas Fir. Its a good, sturdy wood, and the boom on my Weekender is overbuilt at 2" (supporting a 63 square foot gaff sail, IIRC). The gaff at the top, which also takes quite a bit of force, is 1 1/2" in diameter and has done well.

[dstgean]

I built that nice double tapered round spar a 12'--1.25" at each end and 2.25" in the middle. Pity I wasted my time on something 1.5' too short.

[Frank Hagan]

Looking back on my boat, I see quite a few "side projects" like that where I spent a lot of time for very little benefit, so I can empathize with you.

At least you can have some fun with it. Save the spar, and just casually mention that you built it for your next boat. That kind of thing really got a reaction out of my wife!

[dstgean]

Good plan. Any idea of what sort of cleat I should use for the snotter? I was thinking of an aluminum v cleat with a fairlead so that with a know in the end of the snotter it will be unable to fly off through the harbor if it slips.

Dan