Craziest Rigging Idea Ever?

Boomer54 · Aug 10, 2016

Hmmm. Tuning a guitar string seems to be very similar to tuning rigging, at least on the surface. Just a larger diameter "string although there is no sound hole to amplify the sound. Might be worth experimenting, i.e. tune one shroud with a gauge and then attempt the other with the tuner and then double check with the gauge.

kito · Aug 10, 2016

My saxophone tuner clips on the neck and senses the vibration. I guess it would work on a shroud as long as you know they're in the same octave.

Anonymous 121765 · Aug 10, 2016

PG,

Remember, you can tune a guitar & you can piano but, ya can't tune-a-fish.

The Loos gauges may cost more then you would like but, they work well & you only have to buy them once.
As for adjusting via tone, that's pretty much manual tuning unless you posses perfect pitch.

If you're accustomed to doing it this way & have not had problems I would say go for it. However, if wanting to be exact, a mechanical gauge takes the guesswork out of the formula.

CR

jwing · Aug 10, 2016

PGIJon said:
Would a particular note regardless of length indicate a specific tension for each diameter of a specific diameter?

No. Think of a single guitar string. The pitch (or note, as you call it) changes as the string is shortened by pressing the string against a fret. The shorter the string the higher the pitch.

Your idea has some merit in using the tuner to get opposite side shrouds to the same tension, but there is the problem of accounting for the turnbuckles.

Capt jgw · Aug 10, 2016

If the wires were exactly the same length, I suppose it could work. As mentioned above, when you press a fret on a guitar, you effectively shorten the string, and the pitch gets higher. Also on the upper shrouds, you have the spreaders contacting the shrouds which would be like pressing a fret. If the mast was perfectly vertical and the exposed part of the shrouds were exactly the same length the pitches would be the same, but I doubt if you get that to work out. The tension gauge sounds a lot easier.

Justin_NSA · Aug 10, 2016

I'm no authority, but I think if this worked, sailors would have been 'tuning' their rigging decades ago.
I was able to use my old Loos gauge from my Macgregor on my Hunter's backstay, but I bought another one to tension the Hunter's thicker side shrouds. I shoot for even tension on port and stbd.

Siamese · Aug 10, 2016

My rig is tuned to a Gmaj7th. When the wind comes up, I can jam along with it on my guitar.

jeepbluetj · Aug 10, 2016

I think I'll tune mine as a Am.... Just to be a bit melancholy whilst out sailing.

If I ever get the dang engine running again, that is....
(I do actually check the relative tune of the lowers by tapping them)

Justin_NSA · Aug 10, 2016

jeepbluetj said:
I think I'll tune mine as a Am.... Just to be a bit melancholy whilst out sailing.

Too much static. Remember the Steely Dan song "FM, no static at all"?

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani · Aug 10, 2016

I have a friend in South Florida, a long time musician (Guitar player) who uses the idea to tune his rigging.. His is a small boat though

kloudie1 · Aug 10, 2016

Should work but you'd have to absolutely know that both have the same twist so that the stiffness in the wire is the same.. I think you could do that by releasing the turnbuckles, letting the wires go slack, then making sure to hold the wire side, re-install the turnbuckles, being sure that the wires do not get twisted as you tighten..

Davidasailor26 · Aug 10, 2016

I'm skeptical. Balancing the tone between the sides will only tell you that those two tensions are the same. But the mast could still be bent to one side or another even with equal tensions (at small amounts of deflection the mast likely isn't stiff enough to show a different tension). Step 1 in tuning the rig is generally to bring the mast to perpendicular regardless of tension. So this technique could only possibly help you to set the tension of all of the shrouds once you've done the rough tuning. The problem then is that you have no reference to know what the right note is for your shroud lengths, so it can't really help you there unless you can set the tension correctly once with a gauge -and remember the tone from year to year.

Do a search for Selden's tuning guide as an alternative. They have a (cumbersome but effective) method using a yardstick or similar ruler and calipers instead of a gauge.

Mark Maulden · Aug 10, 2016

I dont think you will get a single "note" on a tuner. When you pluck, you vibrate the shroud, mast, other shrouds, rollerfurling etc which will all be present on the plucked shroud. Everything will have different resonant frequencies that will be present. The tuner will not sort it out.

EV21 · Aug 10, 2016

If you spring for a Loos gauge, maybe you could get some extra duty out of it for tuning your instruments.

Joe · Aug 11, 2016

Well..... they do call it "tuning the rig" so why not. However, I don't think it makes much difference about the length as much as the thickness of the wire. An inch here or there won't make a lot of difference.

You know... if you hooked up a couple of humbuckers near the bottom of each wire and connected them to a full stack of marshalls...... you could be jammin' and sailin' in tune with the world.

woodster · Aug 11, 2016

i know you can tune a swinett that way but not sure about a sail boat

Ron20324 · Aug 11, 2016

[QUOTE... In the end I've decided to go for C Minor... I have the Pathétique in mind when plucking...[/QUOTE]

Maybe not the best idea, PG. It would depend on sailing conditions. With winds blowing, tune for a " High C ". On calm days, tune to a "flat C ". (Insert rim shot here.) A pirates favorite letter is not the "RRRgh", it is the " C " , and now you know why . 2nd shot, maestro.