Tuning the rigging

Mar 10, 2014
38
Catalina 30 GYB, Sasafrass River, MD
Attempted to tune the rigging on my '81 Catalina 30 tall rig. The owners manual says the lowers should be looser than the uppers- which should be tight. The forward lowes (it has 2 lowers per side, one going forward one going back) were extremely tight. I was wondering whether the wind on the bow would cause that or whether they were truly too tight. Seems I most likely need to loosen them. But. I have no idea how to. They dont have the standard turnbuckles. Heres a pic. Any idea how to loosen these?
Thanks

image-1036367133.jpg
 
Nov 9, 2012
2,500
Oday 192 Lake Nockamixon
Those are so-called bottle turnbuckles. At each end of the center body, is a lock nut that you loosen, then turn the body just like any turnbuckle. Cinch the lock nuts back down to prevent the turnbuckle loosening again. You could stick an awl through the hole in the body to assist in turning it.

As for tuning, you could refer to this "Hints and Advice" tuning manual from Seldén Mast:

http://www.seldenmast.com/files/595-540-E.pdf

Attempted to tune the rigging on my '81 Catalina 30 tall rig. The owners manual says the lowers should be looser than the uppers- which should be tight. The forward lowes (it has 2 lowers per side, one going forward one going back) were extremely tight. I was wondering whether the wind on the bow would cause that or whether they were truly too tight. Seems I most likely need to loosen them. But. I have no idea how to. They dont have the standard turnbuckles. Heres a pic. Any idea how to loosen these?
Thanks

View attachment 75566
 
Jun 8, 2004
853
Pearson 26W Marblehead
tuning the rig

uppers should be tightest how much movement to u want is up to you next the lowers:

the forward lowers should be tighter than the aft lowers but neither should be as tight as the uppers. tuning lowers tighter than uppers could cause mast damage This is a basic tune for cruising boat
 
Aug 2, 2005
1,155
Pearson 33-2 & Typhoon 18 Seneca Lake
Hello Changes......

Be sure to hold the "flats" on the shroud above the threaded portion. Otherwise the cable will twist and return at least part way to where it started. A wrench for the flats and one for the jam nuts, then the awl (or there is a specific tool for the round area with the hole). Count the turns or half turns you use to loosen the shrouds so you can keep them even or return to the original tightness.

Boat flat on stands (or better yet, in the water) to do the adjustment. As little wind as possible is good too!

Note: We will be working on MARA tomorrow at Bo Vista. Finish work on the tank install.
 
Oct 2, 2006
1,517
Jboat J24 commack
Loos gauge as even after 35 years my its about tight is not great But at least you can use a halyard to be sure the mast is in column

Getting my specific my Cal 29 has 3/16 uppers and double 7/32 lowers which is a pretty common setup for boats of this age.

The lowers carry 50 to 60 %. Percent of the rigs load depending on who you believe

I just know the uppers on the cal need to be about 700 on the gauge which is the elcheepo standard one 500 + something on the lowers

If you set it much looser there is way to much slop in the leeward shrouds in winds above 12 knots
 
Jan 27, 2008
3,086
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Best way is use the loos gage to set the tension based on the size of the wire as tommays suggests. Then go sailing in a 12 knot breeze. On one tack check the leeward shrouds, if they are slack turn them a half turn. Now tack the other way and repeat the process. Keep tacking each way making adjustments a half turn at a time. When your shrouds don't go slack in 12 knots of wind you should be good, set the locknuts or cotter pins. In heavier winds the shrouds will still slacken a bit but for nice 12 knot winds they should not. You'll probably reef after that anyway since once you reach hull speed you're just over stressing the boat. Hull speed on your 30 is probably around 6.5 to 7 knots and you should be seeing that in about 12 knots of wind.
 
Oct 6, 2008
857
Hunter, Island Packet, Catalina, San Juan 26,38,22,23 Kettle Falls, Washington
It would be best to obtain the use of, or buy a "Loos" tension gauge to set the tension on your mast rigging. Rigging that is loose is much harder on the boat than tight rigging. Your boat being a tall rig will see higher stress loading on the mast than a standard rig. You might find the required tension spec's to be much higher than you might have thought was required. My 26 ft. Hunter had spec's of better than 450#.
Ray
 
Jan 6, 2010
1,520
Chang,

I have an '80 Cat, so it's like yours.

Here's the orig. C30 manual, it has some useful info on tuning.
Also, here's my Loos tensioner specs for a starting point for tuning.
You should start out with the values in Table 1 as a starting point.
I keep a slight rake in my mast. To help this, my forward lowers are tensioned more & sailing to windward in medium winds, my aft lowers slacken slightly.

I hated those barrel turnbuckles. I changed them out to open turnbuckles. They have a heftier thread. I don't use cotter pins, but rather the ring type. Can't remember how many times I cut my ankles from the cotter pins, not to mention lines getting snagged on them. Better still, you don't have to destroy the pin when re-adjusting tension.

When I adjust tension, I slacken tension on my halyards & drop the boom on my bimini. This way, the mast is standing neutral. This is the starting point you want.

CR
 

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