just a quick question what is the correct length for a dolphin striker as a need to make a new one murrys says 14 1/2 inches overall is that correct ?
thks
5.2 dolphin striker
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Posted: Jan 28, 2018 - 11:47 AM
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Posted: Jan 28, 2018 - 05:59 PM
Three that I have are 12.5" Pete -
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Posted: Jan 28, 2018 - 09:14 PM
We bought 2 from Murray’s. The first was too long and bent at the ball. We were demasted. We had to trim 3/4” from the second one.
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Prindle 18
96734
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Posted: Jan 29, 2018 - 03:21 AM
If it bent at the ball and not the beam it seems like it would still have bent even if it was shorter. The extra leverage from a longer rod wouldnt stress that point of the rod any more. Or at least that's how my brain is figuring it in the middle of the night... -
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Posted: Jan 29, 2018 - 08:03 AM
Depends on if you have upgraded the mast base to a captive one as it will need to be longer so that when you turn the mast 90 degrees to lower it will not break the mast base. If you still have the older style the shorter one will be ok -
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Posted: Jan 29, 2018 - 12:10 PM
I just went out and measured the DS rod on my boat #400 from 1976 and it looks like it is 13-1/2" counting the small bit that sits in the cast pad and the part in the ball. There is about an inch of thread between the nut on the topside of the beam and the bottom of the ball. That small bit of exposed thread is important to have too because it allows the mast base to fully engage the ball when you are stepping the mast.
Remember that these rods provide the pretress to the main beam. If you don't tighten this correctly there would be too much of threaded section above the beam. There are several threads here about setting the prestress up. I think Ed has documented this several times.
It would be interesting to know when the DS got bent? If it happened during unstepping maybe the mast wasn't rotated 90° to the boat and the mast base casting just had its way with the rod when the mast was lowered. If it happened while sailing then that would be a whole other story.
It also occurs to me that it is important to match the newer mast base casting with the longer DS rod. I kind of remember having to change both (the mast base and the DS) when I upgraded to the newer mast base casting. The old mast base can be identified by only covering about 1/2 of the rotation ball as I recall. The new mast base covers the ball and has two deep grooves that allow the base casting to fully capture the ball when rotated 90°. The new style base makes stepping the mast much easier and less risky.
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dg
NACRA 5.2 #400
This End Up
Original owner since 1975
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Posted: Jan 29, 2018 - 03:54 PM
Matt, it bent at the beam, on the ball side. While sailing.
Striker was tensioned to spec. The bolt was simply longer than the one we had, but if it was OEM, I can’t say.
This length adds to the rig tension, so this can be an issue if you don’t adjust for it.
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Prindle 18
96734
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