1978 Hunter 27 Shroud Tension

Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Short answer is 15% of breaking strength of the diameter wire for the shroud. "Breaking strength" is not an engineering term. It's the short version of an answer. It's not a boat dependent number. It's wire dependent.
 
Apr 22, 2011
865
Hunter 27 Pecan Grove, Oriental, NC
The oem shrouds on the H27 are 3/16". Loos recommends a tension of 500#s. Then take the boat out and adjust if the shrouds slacken a lot when heeled over.
 
Oct 30, 2011
91
Hunter Cherubini 27 Mason
I have a 1984 H27, My upper shrouds slacken quite a bit when heeled over. Is there a rough way to tension them without a gauge?
 
Dec 28, 2015
1,837
Laser, Hunter H30 Cherubini Tacoma
If it’s yours and you are going to have it or another for a while save yourself the headache and time and buy a Loos gauge. It gives you a reference point and cuts down on tuning compare to the measure-stretch- measure technique by about 2/3
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
I have a 1984 H27, My upper shrouds slacken quite a bit when heeled over. Is there a rough way to tension them without a gauge?
You can, but you are going to work for it. Pick a day when the water is relatively calm but there is some wind. You are going to need the assistance of a steady helmsman. Remove the clips and with the boat heeled over in a steady course tighten the shroud until you eliminate the slack. Repeat the tightening on the opposite shroud in an opposite tack. If you cannot acquire a significant degree of heel you may have to repeat the exercise on a windier day. Give it an extra 5 turns to each side for good measure. To make sure we are on the same page the upper shroud you refer to is the one that runs from the top of the mast to the spreader and down to the outboard deck.
 
Last edited:
Dec 28, 2015
1,837
Laser, Hunter H30 Cherubini Tacoma
You need to get the mast in column first and equal tensions on the shrouds (groups)
 
Aug 1, 2019
51
hunter 22 Colorado
My H22 has quite a bit of slack on the lee when heeled over.

what is the harm to this?
 
Aug 1, 2019
51
hunter 22 Colorado
It's not a boat dependent number. It's wire dependent.
you have to help me with that Shemandr.

a boat with fragile construction like chain stays but heavy wire would require less tension than the wire size would imply.

right ?

seems to me that tension is a boat specification.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Sorry I was unclear.
We are assuming that we are using 1X19 Stainless wire because that is what most production boats have. The tension on standing rigging is a % of the breaking strength of the wire. If you have a Loos Gauge the correct tension is listed on the gauge for typical wire sizes. If you want more tension you go to bigger wire. If you merely tension the same size wire more you will in part defeat the safety factor engineers have built into the system.