Tuning Rigging
Date: May 12, 2000
From: Stephanie Tayag Livejon07@aol.com
DEAR PAUL,
PLEASE ASK THE GROUP FOR THE STANDING RIGGINGS TENSION PARAMETERS. RE: BACKSTAY, FORESTAY AND THE SHROUDS, STC, STC. I AM PLANNING ON TUNING MOONLIGHTER AS SOON AS I GET THE NUMBERS. I FOUND THIS TENSION GAUGE AND IT IS $48.OO IS THAT ABOUT RIGHT OR IS THAT TOO EXPENSIVE? THANKS
Date: May 12, 2000
From: Mike Miller capnmike_s@yahoo.com
According to Loos Corp, manufacturers of rigging wire, guages, swaging machines, and tools, tension should be 1/10 of the breaking strength of the wire, for starters. For 1/4" wire that would be 820 lbs. for #302/304 stainless, and 640 pounds for #316 stainless. Strength for 302/304 wire is as follows:
3/16"...4700#
7/32"...6300#
1/4"....8200#
9/32"...10,300#
5/16"...12,500#
3/8"...17,500#
Strengths for type 316 wire are proportionally lower. Once tensioned, adjustments can be made for mast rake, etc as desired. Tighten lower shrouds first so as not to twist the mast. Most rigging problems, according to Loos, come from rigs that are too loose and allow the mast to "pump". Hope this is of help to one and all!
Date: May 12, 2000
From: Bob Flath oldthumper@primary.net
I do my best to race my 1976 E32. Right now I have my forestay/backstay tension at about 1400 lbs. My upper shrouds are about 1000 lbs each and the lowers are set to about 500 lbs. I have the mast raked back slightly, as slightly is about all that is possible given the heft of the mast material (I have the hinged mast easily dropped forward onto the bowsprit). I have not yet installed a backstay adjuster, but shall do so next year, probably hydraulic.
I have set fore/back stays near 1800 lbs, and I am trying to evaluate the tension which gives me the best speeds over a wide range of wind.
Cost...I bought mine at Boat/US and don't recall the cost. You can look this up on the net. Just make sure it will handle the two diameters of cable in the rigging. My 20 foot sailboat has much thinner cabling and uses a smaller tension guage.
Hope this helps. Just a point in closing...your leeward shrouds will 'hang loose' when driving close hauled to beam reaches.
Date: May 13, 2000
From: Carl Hibbard Chgypsy@aol.com
Hello Steph,
$48 for the I presume LOO'S tension gauge is about right. Go to library, or a good ships store and get breaking strength for your size cables. The gauge instructions are a might vague but basically gives percentages of breaking strength of cables as the tension for the cables. Uppers are tighter than lowers normally.
With the mast straight you may have to reconfigure any jib furling to get it straight at any where near the correct tension..
If you boat just went into the water give it a day or so to "settle out" before you start cranking.
Date: May 14, 2000
From: Fred Altmann fred.altmann@attglobal.net
Steph,
Standing rigging was always a big problem for me. I do not use a meter but do it by feeling and measure the possible deflection after tensioning. We are on a 38 footer. With a very tall mast. Even with strong tensioning we still have some bending and movement of the mast in strong winds, a kind of mast oscillation. This should be counteracted by the lower shrouds, we have 4 of those, but I never got rid of the oscillation.There is no description of how to tension in the ships' manual. With best regards.
Date: May 15, 2000
From: Kevin D. Coon kkcoon@worldnet.att.net
Hi Guys,
I like about 12 inches of sag in the headstay when I am going upwind with a properly sized headsail. This gives a pretty good balance between pointing ability and power. On the Upper shrouds , I have just enough tension so that I dont get any discernable shifting of the masthead from one tack to the other.
I tension the lowers so that the mast does not pump and remains in coulmn under load. After adjusting the lowers , I recheck the uppers on both tacks for falloff, (top of the mast bending to leeward).
This procedure leaves the lowers looser than the uppers and does not put excessive tension on any of the shrouds or stays. I have never used a tension guage. Have fun!
Date: May 18, 2000
From: Rex Crawford sockhat1@aol.com
Steph,
Have considered buying one of the tension gauges myself. I would like to be copied on any imput you have on tensioning numbers and gauges. Thank you in advance.
Date: July 21, 2000
From: Paul C. Uhl endvr32@endeavourowners.com
Kevin,
Do you really mean 12 inches of sag on the headstay? Seems like a lot.
Date: July 21, 2000
From: Kevin D. Coon kkcoon@worldnet.att.net
Hi Paul,
Yep, it's about right-look up the headstay sometime from tack to head. People don't realize how much the thing sags, but that is not all bad, draft =horsepower. You want as much horsepower as you can get and still make your pointing angle without too much heel. Also don't want to over stress the rigging and the boat. Try it and see what you think. Sometimes ugly is fast... Thanks for the opportunity!
