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John Wheeler
Sydney, New South Wales
Boat Name: Serene 2
Model/Year: Boomaroo 22 (C22 Mk I) 1976
Hull No.
Hailing Port: Sydney |
 09/09/2007 5:04 PM Pacific Time
I have adjusted the shroud tension on my C22 following some notes that came with the boat (a circa 1977 model). These stated that the aft lower shrouds should be loose enough to swing in a 6-8 inch circle when pushed firmly at shoulder height (say 5 feet above the deck). The notes cited a couple of dismastings (in 30 Kt wind) due to excessive aft lower shroud tension.
However I notice that the leeward aft lowers seem very loose when sailing. I haven't tried moving them under sail, but I would estimate that they could easily be moved in an 18 inch circle.
Is this too loose? I don't want to over-tension the shrouds, but the slack leeward shrouds just don't look right to me.
For the record, I adjusted the other shrouds and stays as follows:
1. Upper shrouds, almost as tight as they could go - allowing a 1-2 inch circle when pushed firmly at shoulder height.
2. Forward lowers - tight enough to comfortably close the pelican clips that attach them to the deck.
3. Forestay - swings in an 8 inch circle when back-stay tension is loose.
4. Backstay - I keep it taut, and tighten it in stronger wind.
Does this sound about right?
Thanks for any input!
John Wheeler
Sydney, Australia
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Paul McLaughlin
Walnut Creek, CA
Boat Name: Tiare
Model/Year: C22 Swing keel, 1982
Hull No. 10890
Hailing Port: SF Bay |
09/10/2007 7:18 PM Pacific Time
Sounds to me like they are too loose. I bought a Loos tension gage a while back. It really takes the guess work out of tensioning.
Paul |
Linda Hoffecker
Lancaster, PA
Boat Name: t/c
Model/Year: '82 Cat 22
Hull No. t/c
Hailing Port: Havre de Grace, MD |
06/09/2013 11:23 PM Pacific Time
I was told by a sailor who used to race that all the high falooting gauges for this stay and shroud adjusting are fluff. He also said that if your leeward shrouds are loose when sailing, they are too loose. For what it's worth. He said that the main thing is to have the shrouds evenly tightened so the mast is 'upright'!! LOL. |
Lynn Buchanan
Nevada City, CA
Boat Name: SAILYNN
Model/Year: SWING 1984
Hull No. 11994
Hailing Port: SCOTTS FLAT LAKE, CA |
06/10/2013 11:47 PM Pacific Time
JYp the key as you said is to get them even. But every sailboat has a sweet spot and you will only know this when you make adjustments to the rigging "until you get it right". The problem is we all sail under different conditions, seas, tide, wakes, wind strength, etc. Like sail trim, my rule is heavy winds tight, loose winds light, and average just right. Of course my basic settings are usually in the middle. If I don't have a gauge (oops it went overboard) I do the buckles as tight as I can do by hand, then I do two to three more turns. My uppers are always the tighter than the forwards and lowers. Right now I have the uppers set at 25 and the lowers set at 20 on the loose gauge. I had had them looser, then went too tight and now that's where I'm going to be for a while. I do have a preset rake and have a split backstay for mast bend adjustments. I race and cruise and am always trying to tweak the rigging to get to that sweet spot. |
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