Boots for the boat
Would you believe that while we are still trying to sell all of the boots and shoes that will not be following us onto our boat we are simultaneously considering buying other boots for our boat? In this case the “footwear” I am referring to are spreader boots.
Spreader boots fit, you guessed it, on the end of the spreaders. You’ll see from the above pic that we don’t have any. The purpose of spreader boots are to minimize chafe when the sails rub on the spreaders.
We’ve done some reading and have found that they come in a variety of styles and materials ranging from leather ones that you stitch in place to rubber ones that fit onto the spreader/shrouds. Although protecting the sails from chafe is a good thing, trapping moisture way up high in a place that’s not so easy to inspect is not a good thing. Let’s just add this item to the list of things we have no idea about what we should do. I’m sure some of our more-knowledgeable readers have opinions on this subject?!?!
You probably have isomats. Try here:
http://www.pridemarine.com/index.cfm?category=10007%7C10553
Mike,
We don’t have them on TabbyCat since our headsails do not go past the spreaders. When we had our monohull, we quickly tired of redoing the rigging tape to hold the rubber boots on (along with trapping moisture) and went to a fabric type that you can buy from most marine stores like Defender or West Marine.
I’ll see if I can email more details to you.
Fair Winds,
Mike
Thanks Mike. The fabric type are the ones that I thought looked the best too.
Although our jib doesn’t our Genoa does go past the spreaders and I remember during our delivery trip (the only time we used it) that the sail got a couple of black marks on it from rubbing on the spreaders.
Spreader boots… another boat item we never knew about. The more we research, the less we know! Hope your back is felling better.
Thanks guys. My back is much better. I was crawling around on the boat today and was able to do my TRX workout too!
As for the boat stuff I think I am still learning something new every day. It’s one of the things that makes it fun. 🙂
The old fashioned solution is baggywrinkle. It’s made from old rope, unlayed and attached to the rigging. It adds windage, but if all you use it for is the spreaders, that shouldn’t be a problem, and it does allow the spreaders to breathe, thus slowing corrosion.
I’m familiar with baggy-wrinkles but I typically see them attached to the shrouds. I think that in this case if they were, the sail would still rub on the end of the spreader. Unless there is some way to attach them to the end of the spreaders?
Plus, I think they would look more suitable on an older monohull than on a modern cat. It’s all about appearance, remember. 😉
The comment about trapping in the water are valid and thus I have gone for the leather ones. They are now eight years old and still doing a very good job. One can give them a wipe down at the start of the season to get the dirt off but generally they work well with no transfer of dirt to the sail.
For long down wind sailing baggywrinkle are a good idea. You can make then before the trip but remove then at the destination. They are not a good look on a modern vessel.
Regards Harry
PS keep up the Blog I don’t miss a single post—-very entertaining
Thank you Harry!
Do you think there would be much difference in moisture trapped between the leather ones and the fabric ones shown here:
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/woeimages/marinesupplies/50042.jpg
Are you certain you need them at all? I was examining my genoa both for wear and the spreader tips (the boots are failing) in the fall and decided the issue may be moot.
Your self-tacking jib doesn’t reach that far. No issue.
Your genoa runs OUTSIDE the shrouds and can’t touch the spreaders, except lightly during tacking. Take a close look a the photo. This is unusual, but was also the case on my Stiletto, which went 29 years without spreader boots without damage (no Stiletto uses boots – same style rig, outboard shrouds and diamond wires). The tips themselves, on my boat anyway, were very smooth and could not tear a sail.
I think boots may be unnecessary for this design. For other designs and most monohulls, a very different story.
On the otherhand, the chute can wrap around the tips – it likes to do that if the tack line is too tight or too loose – but I have seen no evidence of sharp spots doing anything.
Just a contrarian thought.
You may very well be right, Drew. As I mentioned, we haven’t really used the Genoa, except during the delivery trip. It was likely while tacking that the sail brushed on the spreaders, leaving the marks. My thoughts are that IF we are going to put them on it would be a LOT easier to do it now, while the mast is down, than after we have stepped it.
Very true.
But I wouln’t obcess. They won’t get much where. We have the taylor-made boots and they fit poorly.
Well, we are going to rig the genoa this season and use it sailing here. We’ll have to take down the mast again when we get to the canals so that will give us another opportunity to put the boots on then if we decide that they are necessary. And if not, we saved 50 bucks!
Love your blog, read it every morning. Nice that you take the time to update everyday.
About the hawse pipe removal, it is likely someone used 3M 5200 ie. permanent sealant. I have had luck using the new dremel multi-max oscillating tool with the thin scraper blade. It gets right underneath the sealant. The multi-max is a knock off of the more pricy Fein oscillating tool. You can get the dremel version for about $100. I used mine last weekend on various sailboat jobs on a buddies boat and we were both really impressed. Have Fun.
Hi Terry. Thanks for the kind comments and the tips. I am familiar with the tool your are talking about, both the Fein and the Dremel versions. I don’t have one but could certainly see how it could work for this job.
Coincidentally, I only just yesterday got to use my brand new Dremel tool (the normal, rotating kind, not the oscillation one) that I received as a Christmas present from some friends. It worked beautifully.
Fabric boots dont look as if they would last. I like the leather which dont trap the water because they breath and dry out.
PS watch out for LED light and VHF radio interference. I installed one as an anchor light at the top of the mast near the VHF antenna and had to remove it because of so much noise. They differ in construction and noise so try before you buy.
Hi Harry
I can see the benefits to the leathers ones like you describe them. And I have also heard of how certain brands of LEDs can cause interference for radios. I’m not sure how I would be able to test out setup prior to stepping the mast though. These guys (http://www.bebi-electronics.com/) have pretty good reviews from people cruising so I guess I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed!