Is tuning the rigging necessary?

DeliriousSailor

DeliriousSailor

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Mar 12, 2021
59
Hunter 26 Gulfport
I have a Hunter 26. Purchased it 4 months ago. Here’s a real rookie question.
We want to lower the mast to add lazy jacks and replace the mast light.
Do we have to tune the rigging every time we lower and raise the mast? I’m getting conflicting info from many sources. Time to get answers from a larger audience.
 
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

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Feb 20, 2011
8,062
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
DeliriousSailor said:
Do we have to tune the rigging every time we lower and raise the mast? I’m getting conflicting info from many sources. Time to get answers from a larger audience.
Click to expand
If you need to loosen shrouds when stepping or dropping, well then, yes, you do tune every time.
If just the forestay needs loosening or tightening to step/unstep, not so much. ;)
 
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FastOlson

FastOlson

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Apr 8, 2010
2,139
Ericson Yachts Olson 34 28400 Portland OR
If the present rig is tight and is actually vertical.... and you have read up enough to be satisfied with it, just use tape to mark the limits of threads on all turnbuckles before you loosen them. When rig is up again, turn the barrels to the same marked points.
If you want to know as much as 96.4% of the responders here, acquire and read "The Riggers Apprentice" by Brion Toss. :)
Well written and easy to digest; it's excellent.
 
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D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
13,061
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
The shrouds and stays do more than just hold the mast up, they transmit the energy developed by the sails to the boat which allows the boat to move through the water. The forces on the rig need to be balanced and the mast needs to be shaped correctly. If the mast is not shaped correctly or the rig tension is not balanced, then there is a high risk of the mast becoming horizontal and perhaps in multiple pieces.

Learn to tune the rig, it is not that difficult and it will improve your enjoyment of the boat as it will sail better and safer.
 
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rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,623
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Since you do not need to loosen the shrouds to lower the mast, you do not need to tune every time. I do mine at the start of each season.

What is very important to keep an eye on is the T-ball in the turn buckle as you raise and lower the mast. It is designed to swing with the mast but if it gets turned 90-degrees you will bend the shank in the turn buckle as your raise and/or lower the mast. A good practice is to stop raising (or lowering) at the half-way point and do a quick visual check that the T-ball is not binding.
 
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Tedd

Tedd

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Jul 25, 2013
792
TES 246 Versus Bowser, BC
rgranger said:
Since you do not need to loosen the shrouds to lower the mast, you do not need to tune every time. I do mine at the start of each season.
Click to expand
I'm not a Hunter owner (yet) but, for a Mac 26S like mine, this would be the correct answer.

I mean, you want to keep an eye on your rigging all the time, and one of the great things about a trailer sailor is that it's so easy to check the mechanical condition of the rigging when it's down. But, if I understand the Hunter rigging correctly, you don't actually change any adjustments when you lower and re-raise the mast, so there's no reason you'd have to re-adjust anything.
 
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T

twistedskipper

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Aug 12, 2018
163
Hunter 26 Carter Lake, Colorado
Tedd said:
But, if I understand the Hunter rigging correctly, you don't actually change any adjustments when you lower and re-raise the mast, so there's no reason you'd have to re-adjust anything.
Click to expand
Just to be clear, you do need to slacken the headstay on the H26 in order to detach or attach it at the bow, but that is easy to re-tension properly compared to having to re-tune the shrouds.
 
Thaniel

Thaniel

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Dec 20, 2020
127
Prindle 16' Corrotoman River, VA
DeliriousSailor said:
Do we have to tune the rigging
Click to expand
"have to" seems pretty subjective. To be very literal, will it sail without tuning? Yes it will.

Will you win a race against a boat with tuned rigging? Will it have some adverse effects in some conditions, maybe. "Have to".....You see my point.
 
Tedd

Tedd

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Jul 25, 2013
792
TES 246 Versus Bowser, BC
twistedskipper said:
Just to be clear, you do need to slacken the headstay on the H26 in order to detach or attach it at the bow, but that is easy to re-tension properly compared to having to re-tune the shrouds.
Click to expand
That's how the Mac 26S works, too. But I think the H260s can be done without slackening the fore stay, can't they?
 
Tally Ho

Tally Ho

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Jan 7, 2011
5,699
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
DeliriousSailor said:
I have a Hunter 26. Purchased it 4 months ago. Here’s a real rookie question.
We want to lower the mast to add lazy jacks and replace the mast light.
Do we have to tune the rigging every time we lower and raise the mast? I’m getting conflicting info from many sources. Time to get answers from a larger audience.
Click to expand
You could climb the mast (bosuns chair) instead of dropping the mast. I added lazy jacks to my 32 foot boat sitting I. A bosuns chair to drill and tap holes for cheek blocks on the mast.

If it is easier to lower the mast, and you think the rig is tuned before you start, as others have said, mark all of the turnbuckles, loosen things up and tighten back to the same marks.

Greg
 
Daddio417

Daddio417

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Oct 29, 2016
53
Pearson 31-2 Bras D'or
All the right info is here, if the shrouds were good before they will be good after. Checking once a year with a gauge is worthwhile. The more you take the mast up and down on the H26 the easier it gets, but advice on the T-ball and controlling your loose shrouds is helpful.
 
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