wood shroud covers? which spreader boot?

[Shortman]

I am thinking of making wood stay covers for my 85 Pearson 34, and would be interested in opinions as to whether this is a typical over obsessive boat owner, half____ idea.
When I got the boat, a year ago, there were the standard plastic ones tight to the wire, under which had accumulated a fair amount of dirt. The boat was purchased in CT where they don't typically pull the stick in the winter, so the covers had been on a while. Taken off at the beginning of the season, the wire is pretty clean by now.
The main reason would be to have the larger diameter for the jib to slide over, and I'm also thinking to groove so the cover would fit loose enough to act like a roller. I've mocked up a couple of 1" diameter half rounds in Ipe, a decking lumber that is also sometimes called Ironwood because it weathers as well as teak but is much harder & stronger. Wire is 9/32".
Would also apply to the baby stay.
I'm trying to keep the diameter as small as possible for aesthetics as well as windage.
Any experience here? I cannot see that the plastic covers contribute that much to abrasion resistance.

The spreaders have not had boots and will get them this spring. Which types work well?

[Figment]

I'm a fellow pearson owner, but my memory is blanking on the look of the mid-80s 34. How much other brightwork does the boat have?

My simple opinion is that one doesn't want the shroud rollers to be the brightest spot on the boat. Unless you have a bunch of other brightwork to help these things along, I'd just do a few of the plastic disc type rollers. Or tack a bit more loosely....
My 1960 has a fair amount of brightwork, and I've been lusting after some rollers for years, but I'm a bit leery of how much attention they'll draw from the rest of the boat.

The plastic covers you removed aren't about abrasion resistance. They just keep the sails from picking up grey-black stuff off the wire. Some folks feel they're easier on the hands, but my hands have never had a problem with bare wire, so I can't agree.

I sewed some leather boots on my spreader tips a few years ago. They're just dandy, and a lot less expensive than the premolded plastic jobbies.

[Nicholas Carey]

Originally posted by Figment:
I sewed some leather boots on my spreader tips a few years ago. They're just dandy, and a lot less expensive than the premolded plastic jobbies.You can put leather boots on your stays and shrouds, too. Looks better than plastic, too.

You want to get the grey, chrome-tanned elkhide that sailmakers user for chafing gear — you should be able to buy some from a sail loft if you can't get it elsewhere.

[MAGIC's Craig]

Just a minor caution on the spreader boots (if you have wooden spreaders): Do not sew them so tightly that they retain moisture (from rain) inside the cover. Not good for the spreader end. Same applies if you go for the rubber/plastic ones and tape them shut. Remember to let them have the ability to drain.

[Bob Smalser]

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3075025/59030331.jpg

Easier to do a neater job with vegetable-tanned tooling leather, as it stretches and shrinks for a perfect, close fit that, with the end hole left by sewing the seam and the spreader end notch, preclude those water pockets. Also dries faster and breathes better than rubber.

Treat it with a mix of beeswax, pine tar and neatsfoot oil after it dries and it'll last just as long as the chrome-tanned stuff.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/4921404/62648482.jpg

For vegetable-tanned leather parts you can remove, boiling them in melted beeswax can result in up to a century of use, depending on wear.

[ 10-17-2005, 02:36 PM: Message edited by: Bob Smalser ]

[Hugh M.]

My dad's boat has wooden stay rollers out of ash. They work great and look better. They are about 2" in diameter and are split lengthwise to fit over the wire. The mating surfaces are loose-fit tounge and groove. On the exterior, three 1" sections are let in to accept white tape, or siezing. This secures the half sections together. The rollers ride on an oversized stainless washer that intern rides on the swage.
Only problem is they have to be varnished yearly. One thing is you would think the varnish would get rubbed off where the wire touches, but it stays pretty solid.

I'd say they are well worth the price of windage. Maintenance, hmmm?

[JimConlin]

Bete-Fleming (http://www.bete-fleming.com/fleming.htm) , the folks who also make pig sticks for your burgee, make some very nice shroud rollers in ash. Defender sells 'em.
I had 'em on the Alberg for a while, but finally concluded that the white plastic ones worked just as well, looked cleaner, offered less windage and were less of a maintenance issue. I think the ash rollers, varnished, would be a bit out of place in a boat built after 1970. Gray teak would be less obtrusive.

[ 10-17-2005, 07:35 PM: Message edited by: JimConlin ]

[Shortman]

The Ipe, if left untreated which is OK, will weather grey. Per Figment's post, it's a concern in terms of aesthetics because this boat has very little brightwork on deck. I want them least obtrusive.
Ash would need constant upkeep (varnish). My experience with Ash as an exterior wood (I've run a Architectural WW business for 30 years) is not great, although if well drained would probably be OK.
The Ipe is very strong so I am hoping to get away with 1" max, if not 7/8" diameter. We have a couple of molders, so I can run just about anything I want.
Re: Boots - spars are aluminum.
Thanks for the link to Bete-Fleming, didn't know about them.
Thanks guys.