88 mac 26D Replacing shroud tangs with turnbuckles

[Ms Hope]

We have an 88 macgregor 26D with the multi holed tang to chain strap connections. I would like to cut away the boat side tang and install a turnbuckle to the chain strap for tightening the rig. I found it difficult to get what I think is proper tension on the shrouds with the factory tangs. any advice is appreciated.

 

[justsomeguy]

any advice is appreciated.

Seems a bit radical.
What tool(s) are you using to tension the vernier adjusters?

 

[Joe]

The reason those pin hole style adjusters are on the shrouds is to make connecting and disconnecting easier, faster and more consistent with settings. Without a visual to determine if there's a simpler solution it's hard to make such a suggestion. It's your boat and you can do whatever you want... a turnbuckle conversion is definitely possible, of course, but you will need to modify the wire end to a threaded stud. If you're going to have to do that, then why not simply shorten the wire to desired length and install another marine eye.
If you're saying there's no adjustment allowance left in the current set up... then you may find another pin hole, quick release adjuster to give you what you need. I just don't see the advantage of a turnbuckle conversion....

 

[Ms Hope]

Thanks for the replies. My main problem was getting the shrouds to the “proper” tension. I used a screw driver and a marlin spike to walk the adjuster into place. Even though the shrouds seemed to have a bit of ‘slack’ (1” of play, six feet off the deck) the mast was solid. Maybe I’m too focused on tensioning. My plan was to attach the turnbuckle to the shroud adjuster and the chain plate. Or just cut the adjuster off the shroud and attach the turnbuckle to the shroud and chain plate. Thanks again.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I'm guessing your outer shrouds are loose and inner ones are tight? It might explain why the mast felt solid even though there's some slack

 

[THECUSCUS]

StaLok fittings attached to the bottom of your old shrouds. Easy to do, no special tools required.

 

[justsomeguy]

I did find these turnbuckles on Defender's closeouts.


But a bit of careful measuring to be sure they'll fit your existing set-up would be in order.

I've made a tool to allow better leverage on the shroud tangs than the screwdriver and marlinspike method.

It's basically a long-ish two-tined fork with bolts and wing nuts set in one end of the contraption. Distance between the bolts corresponds with the distance between the shroud adjusters near their top end.


From this thread:

MacGregor 26 - Shroud Tension

I bough my first boat (a 1997 Macgregor 26X) last summer, and I started by checking and setting the shroud tension to what I found to be "recommended specs". However, I could not bring the tension on the upper shrouds to 300# because when I adjusted the tension plates to this level, I was not...

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