Port Spreaders after weld

During the 2010 sailing season it was noticed that both Port side spreaders had small cracks on the edge where the original seam had opened.  Apparently this was caused by winter storage with port side spreaders lower than stbd and water freezing inside the ends.  There were two options presented to remedy this.  1. Purchase new spreaders or 2. Have the spreaders welded.  Hall Spars was contacted and could set up tooling to provide spreaders at $195 US each plus shipping or alternatively they could be welded locally.  Aluminum welding needs specialized equipment so finding a shop is a bit more limited.  However our friend Andy has a "guy" who does this for his business and he did a great job.  Next step is to sand off all paint from all four spreaders and refinish.

This project provides a great opportunity to preview how mast or boom will be refinished in the future.  Options are: 1.  metal rust paint or enamel from local hardware store which has been used with great success by other boat owners; 2. one part polyurethane paint; 3. 2 part paint.  We selected option 2.  The main reason being that we had Interlux Brightsides, Interlux Pre-Kote and West 860 Aluminum Etching products on hand already.

Materials on hand - West 860, Interlux Pre-Kote, Interlux Brightside

Spreader sanded with 220 grit and Random Orbital Sander then etched - Heineken for later

Spreader primed with Interlux Pre-Kote