I have 1976 Catalina 30 (tall rig, bowsprit) that I bought few years ago. Its a great boat that I've been sailing while doing some repairs and upgrades (work on Atomic 4 engine, running rigging etc). I think the time has time to replace the old style rigging and I am wondering if anyone may be able to answer couple of questions or may have encountered a similar issues. The rig is really old with old style bottle turnbuckles. Since my mast comes down every fall I was able to inspect the wires every season and I see no issues with them such as corrosion, burs etc. However I can barely tighten both forward lower shrouds to recommended 11% breaking strength. The turnbuckles are turned all the way in and tension barely gets there. One reason why this may be happening is that the mast is raked slightly forward. The mast itself is on old style stiff one that does not show any noticeable bent. I've read some posts which said that some Catalina 30 owners did rake their masts forward to reduce the weather helm. So, first I am curious whether anyone has a boat with a straight mast or one with forward rake like mine. The second question is what would be the best way to replace the rigging for my boat. I understand that the standard approach is to tune the rig and mark turnbuckle position, which can later be used as a guide when making new wires. In my case shall I keep my forward rake or shall I try to tune it first to get new guidelines for the shrouds? I am not a racer, but I am aiming at making my boat comfortable for cruising under varying conditions. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.