[Rhodes22-list] Spreading it thin(ly)

[Joe Camp]

Hi everyone:

     My sailing season (some may remember) was cut short on August 4 by a small twister on the Bohemia River (MD) that sucked out my cabin hatch door and flipped the boat over.  This ended up damaging the mast, and finally...today...the new one is on the boat.  But since the season ends in eight days, I had the rigging company who did the repairs leave her on the trailer and button up for the ride back to PA.

     The rigging guy mentioned that he was perplexed by the nature of my spreaders, in that they wobbled around on the mast, and actually pointed a bit aft.  He felt that they should be pointing directly port and starboard.  I said that they have always had that wobble in them.  Is this right?  Does our boat possess this quality in the spreaders (the wobble)?  He suggested I devise some thin shims to go between the spreaders and the mast.   

     I am the sort of guy who tends not to doubt Stan's design choices.  (This not only seems like a wise course, given his vast experience, but also avoids the Cranky-Stan Syndrome).  Since I have never been right trying to second guess him, and he's always been right when (lovingly) correcting my misperceptions, I like to go with that winning formula.  So Rhodies, should I shim out the spreaders, or let the status quo be the... well, you know, the status quo?  Thanks.

Joe Camp
s/v John Dawson
(soon to be in my side yard in)
Hatboro, PA