After winterizing my boat for the 1st time , I'm still not satisfied I'm completely done . My best sailing buddy informs me I should put some slack in my rigging . He's as new as I am to sailing , so , I'm looking for more information . I think he's right , but we don't know how .
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Leave it alone!
Ron: This discussion just came up last week. The bottom line was to leave it alone. I guess a good question is why do some think that loosening the rigging is a good idea? Maybe something from the days of old when the boats were wood? Sounds good to me!
Ron: This discussion just came up last week. The bottom line was to leave it alone. I guess a good question is why do some think that loosening the rigging is a good idea? Maybe something from the days of old when the boats were wood? Sounds good to me!
Depends
You havent said if the boat is in or out of the water. If in the water definitely leave it tensioned just as it should be, What you DON"T want is for the rig to hammer itself to death in winter storms. If up on the hard with the mast up I would check the tension with a tension guage. The hull can take a different set when up on stands and you want to be sure there is no over tension from twisting. But again the rig should be snug to avoid hammering in storm winds.
You havent said if the boat is in or out of the water. If in the water definitely leave it tensioned just as it should be, What you DON"T want is for the rig to hammer itself to death in winter storms. If up on the hard with the mast up I would check the tension with a tension guage. The hull can take a different set when up on stands and you want to be sure there is no over tension from twisting. But again the rig should be snug to avoid hammering in storm winds.
agree with Steve...
Great minds with the same name think alike! Your rig, when properly tuned, should vary from 10% to 20% of max break strength of the wire (depending on the particular stay in question) and is no where near stressing the rig to the point of damage. A loose rig is almost as bad as an over-tensioned rig. Leave it alone, unless you think its over-tensioned.
Great minds with the same name think alike! Your rig, when properly tuned, should vary from 10% to 20% of max break strength of the wire (depending on the particular stay in question) and is no where near stressing the rig to the point of damage. A loose rig is almost as bad as an over-tensioned rig. Leave it alone, unless you think its over-tensioned.
Coefficient of Expansion
Just checked the coefficient of expansion for aluminum and stainless steel and aluminum is a little more than double that of stainless. What this means is as the temperature drops the mast will shorten a little more than twice as fast as the stays; therefore, the rig will actually become looser vice get tighter. Bottom line: should be no problem with the rig getting too tight due to colder temperatures. As previously stated, a loose rig can be a hazard as the constant movement will cause a certain amount of work hardening and therefore has the potential for failure.
Just checked the coefficient of expansion for aluminum and stainless steel and aluminum is a little more than double that of stainless. What this means is as the temperature drops the mast will shorten a little more than twice as fast as the stays; therefore, the rig will actually become looser vice get tighter. Bottom line: should be no problem with the rig getting too tight due to colder temperatures. As previously stated, a loose rig can be a hazard as the constant movement will cause a certain amount of work hardening and therefore has the potential for failure.
Rig Tension
I have a 78h30 here in Houston, which, of course, never has winter per se, but there is absolutley nothing in my library that suggests -- even remotely -- that detuning a rig by loosening the tension during cold weather is a good idea. Talked to some professional rigger friends and they've never heard of that. Ain't broke -- nor likely to break -- don't try to fix it.
I have a 78h30 here in Houston, which, of course, never has winter per se, but there is absolutley nothing in my library that suggests -- even remotely -- that detuning a rig by loosening the tension during cold weather is a good idea. Talked to some professional rigger friends and they've never heard of that. Ain't broke -- nor likely to break -- don't try to fix it.
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