Newport 28 stay cable tension

Sep 22, 2017
3
Newport 28 Homer,ak
I recently have become the caretaker of a Newport 28. I am looking for a good starting point for the tension of the mast staycables. I have the current tension

Forward inner forstay 18 port 3/16
Aft inner forstay 25 port 3/16
Aft outer forstay 27 port 7/32
Forward inner forstay 11 stbd 3/16
Aft inner forstay 25 stbd 3/16
Aft outer forstay 27 stbd 7/32
Forward stay 16 7/32
Back stay split 6 both 5/32

Just need a good place to start. Thank for the help.
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I have never heard the term "stay cables," or staycable.

I'm not quite sure what you are asking, and saying. I assume you want to know the correct tension for the shrouds and stays. what do your numbers represent? For example, what does "18 port 3/16" mean?

Also I'm guessing this is a single spreader rig, with single cap shrouds (those go to the top of the mast), and fore and aft lower shrouds (attached to the mast below the spreader). Is that so?

Do you have a tension gauge?
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
I'm guessing the first number IS the Loos number read off the gauge.
 
Oct 25, 2011
576
Island Packet IP31 Lake St. Louis, Montreal
That would be my guess too. A drawing might help
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I'm guessing the first number IS the Loos number read off the gauge.
Probably so. But which one? Are all the Loos gauges calibrated to the same numerical scale? I assumed the scale was arbitrary, per the particular gauge. I have the PT-3, and while there's a "18" on the scale, for example, it doesn't correspond to anything for 3/16" wire.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Probably so. But which one? Are all the Loos gauges calibrated to the same numerical scale? I assumed the scale was arbitrary, per the particular gauge. I have the PT-3, and while there's a "18" on the scale, for example, it doesn't correspond to anything for 3/16" wire.
A PT-3 is too big for 3/16 wire. A PT-2 would probably be right.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Yes, I know, I was just trying to make a point about what "16" means.
Well, 16 on a Loos PT-2 directly reads to 9% of 3/16 wire breaking strength.
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Well, 16 on a Loos PT-2 directly reads to 9% of 3/16 wire breaking strength.
Just to calibrate, I have a PT-3, which doesn't go down to 3/16"; what does "16" mean for 1/4" on yours? For mine it's 18.5% (using linear interpolation; my table doesn't list 16, it goes 7, 10, 15, 17, 19, 22, and so on).
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Just to calibrate, I have a PT-3, which doesn't go down to 3/16"; what does "16" mean for 1/4" on yours? For mine it's 18.5% (using linear interpolation; my table doesn't list 16, it goes 7, 10, 15, 17, 19, 22, and so on).
pt-2_Label.gif
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Thanks. Yes, so if you don't know which gauge, the gauge number is meaningless.
 
Sep 22, 2017
3
Newport 28 Homer,ak
I am using a loos gauge. The number is the value read on the gauge and the fraction is the cable size. I'm obviously not the most knowledgeable when it come to correct sailing vocabulary. Sorry to all the purists. So that said when I say inner forstay for and aft I mean the cable going from the deck to just below the spreaders mid mast. And outer forstay mean the cables going from the deck to the top of the mast. Forward stay it the forward most cable that goes from bow to top of mast and the rear is a split sty that goes from port and stbd deck to just above the boom and connects to a single cable that run to the top of the mast.
 

MitchK

.
Sep 22, 2017
102
Capital Yachts Newport 28 Burbank, WA
Great question AKsailboater. We just picked up a 1982 Newport 28 last weekend and I would like to verify if the rigging is tensioned properly. On ours, the mast seems to be arched to the aft by several inches at the top. I am not sure this is the way the it is supposed to be. I will follow this post and see what develops.

Thanks
Mitch
 
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Joe

.
Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
Stays are fore and aft.... shrouds are side to side. Important for opposing shrouds to be balanced, i.e. equal tension, to keep the mast straight. Stay tension is often adjusted when sailing as conditions dictate..... that's why many boats have a backstay adjusting device. Every sail or spar maker's website will have an article on how to tune a sailboat rig.... so do most owner's websites... here's one I really like... www.cncphotoalbum.com You can adequately tune your rig without a tension gauge.
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I am using a loos gauge.
Which gauge are you using, meaning, which model of Loos gauge? As you can see from the discussion, the number means different tensions on different gauges.

There's more to it than just tension. The mast must be in column, and with the correct rake. It may or may not call for some pre-bend, as well.
 
Apr 4, 2016
201
Newport 28 Richardson Marina
Welcome AKsailboater & MitchK. Yes there are some purists here but it does help when we all use the same terminology. I am a fellow Newport 28 owner so welcome to the fleet. There are a lot of good riggers sites that explain in detail the process of tuning a mast much better than I can.

There's more to it than just tension. The mast must be in column, and with the correct rake. It may or may not call for some pre-bend, as well.
This is good advise but you will not get pre-bend in a N28 mast, you will probably break the boat first :). The N28 mast is deck stepped, I make sure my mast is sitting squarely on the deck fitting (mast step) to ensure proper fore & aft positioning

Lastly there is a great group of Newport owners on the Capital Yachts Facebook group, check it out. Good luck and I hope you love your boats as much as I love mine.
 

MitchK

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Sep 22, 2017
102
Capital Yachts Newport 28 Burbank, WA
AKsailboater,
I got a chance to put my Loos PT-2 gauge to use over the weekend. I did not take any measurements on the aft stay as I could not get a useable reading on the 5/32 wires. So with that said, here are the number that I measured.

Forestay 7/32--18--250lbs--4%
starboard and port fore shrouds 3/16--14--360lbs--8%
starboard and port aft shrouds 3/16 16--420lbs--9%
starboard and port cap shrouds 7/32--21--360lbs--6%

Not sure the readings really have any meaning. The important thing is that the shrouds all measure the same on both sides. so at least it has even tension.

Your numbers are quite a bit tighter than mine, and you seem to have a bit of imbalance on your fore shrouds.

Mitch