Camber spar fitting

[mary orielly]

Does anyone no where i can purchase a stay retainer for the spar to luff attachment for a 36' Freedom,Camberspar Sail systems in PA do not have any.I will also take a used unit if available.

Mary O Reilly

[vicdemattia]

Try a couple of the major sailmakers (North, Quantum, etc.). There are still a few cats in production that use the Camber Spar system.

[Ereiss]

you might try Paul Dennis at Old Warren Marina 401-245-6949. he has a lot of old Freedom parts, he tells me.

[tomwales]

Dave Bierig invented the camber spar. I got my retainer clip from him a few years ago. Dave can be reached a 814-459-8001. Good luck

[wcwcwc]

Paul Dennis definately has the retainer clips.

I was having trouble with my camber spar jamming when I lowered the jib. I went to see Paul and brought the spar with me. I was thinking that my problem was the sheave at the forward end being worn (in some places the flanks(?) of it had broken off making it more like a roller than a sheave you would find in a block) although it still turned freely. He said that more often the problem was that the spar jammed when trying to raise the sail reather than striking it. Further discussion led to the retainer clip. I seems that there are at least two sizes in use: A small one used on F30s and a larger one some F36s. I had the larger one on my F36 but the forward fitting of the spar was the set up for the smaller fitting. The smaller clip measures 11/16" between its jaws. I had dropped the clip that came with my boat when I first tried to install it and just asked for a clip for an F36 not knowing that there are different sizes. I had been using fender washers between the jaws and the end fitting which may have been the cause of my hang up. The boat is hauled now so I won't know if this solved the problem until spring.

You should measure the width of the spar's end fitting and specify the fitting to match.