| Author | Message | ||
     Mike Bergmann Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
Eric, I use the original factory tuning guide, and I do fairly well with it. Basically, you sail to wandward in 15 to 20 knots with about 20 degrees of heel, and the backstay adjuster full on (about 4 to 5 inches of mast bend). The uppers should be just tight enough that the leeward upper is barely tight, with no sag. The lowers and intermediates should be just tight enough to keep the mast in column. When I am checking, I sight up the mainsail track, and it is fairly easy to check. I also have a furler (Selden), so I can't check tension there either. I don't adjust the headstay tension - I slack all shrouds and the backstay splits 10 turns each when I drop the stick, and I count the same turns back on in the spring. Teh factory instructions say to set the backstay for about 4 to 5 inches of mast bend when it is on, and about 7 inches with backstay and babystay both on. My helm is well balanced with the setup I use, so I don't have to play with rake. You can't always trust a tension gauge, as we rediscovered when tuning a friend's Ensign in the Nationals last year. Tension does not tell you if the mast is plumb and raked properly, and it does not always tell you if the mast is in column. Each pair of shrouds will generally have equal tension, since they are pulling against each other. When I do use a tension gauge, I first get everything fairly close with the mast plumb and in column, and use the gauge for fine-tuning only. |
