Spreader Torque force for Supercat 19

[calcheck]

Hello, you have a great forum here, I just got a Supercat 19 with the retrofit spreader. The old owner couldn't find the torque specs for the cables on the spreader- anyone have that info?

Thanks in advance

John

[Matt Haberman]

John,
I am assuming that your are talking about diamond wire tension? The SuperCat 19 rig was designed to be adjusted depending on wind conditions. In light winds (no trapeezing) the wires were adjusted by hand so they were taunt. As the wind conditions picked up the wires were loosened so the mast would flex more and depower as necessary. When loosening the wires care is taken so they are both adjusted equally. To verify that they are equal you can simply press the wire against the side of the mast and see how far up the mast you can make the wire touch. Both sides should be equal. Remember not to loosen the wires too much, since you still need them to support the mast. If I recall correctly, a save measurement is 10" up from the bottom of the mast extrusion. Ie: If the highest point of wire contact is less then 10" from the mast base, then your ok.
Hope this helps.

[calcheck]

Yes the diamond wire tension is what I needed to find. That is exactly the opposite of what I thought I should do- I'm glad for your informative reply

[Matt Haberman]

John,

I noticed that you posted on Catsailor.com, as a clarification to my previous message and the following post by Jake Kohl on Catsailor.com I just wanted to do a followup:

The above advice applies only if you have a straight spreader that is perpendicular to the mast. The reverse should be true for spreaders that are raked...i.e. swept aft. The difference is that raked spreaders allow you to induce pre-bend in the mast by tightening the diamond wires. More prebend makes for a flatter mainsail desirable in windy conditions. Less prebend (looser diamonds) makes for a fuller mainsail desirable in lighter conditions.

While what Jake has stated is generally true, the SuperCat 19, 20 & 20TR do not utilize a pre-bent mast and were designed to be adjusted / tuned as I previously described.
The ARC-21, 22, RC-27 & 30 are designed with a pre-bent mast and should ONLY be adjusted per the guidelines found in the owners manual.
I hope this helps clarify things.

[calcheck]

Yes i know the spreader is swept back, but I don't know if this impacts this mast- apparently not- just leave it looser for more wind. correct?

Thanks for the clarification.

[Tom Haberman]

The SUPERCAT 19 spreader is not swept back enough to be used for a prebent rig.
The advice posted by Matt is correct.
Trying to induce prebend into your mast with existing spreader will result in damage to either spreader or the diamond wires.