Was wondering how to tighten the forestay for a 1988 30 ft Tall rig - bow sprit, I am not sure where the adjustment is with regards to the roller furling, I'm a new owner and would appreciate some guidance.
forestay
- Thread starter Surprise8440
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Tension the backstay...
...that should be enough to take the sag out of the forestay. Plumb the mast with a halyard to see how much rake (backward lean) you impart, it shouldn't be more than an inch or so. If you don't have one, a backstay adjuster is a very handy device, consider upgrading your rig thusly. Otherwise, you might have to raise the drum to get at the forestay turnbuckle.
...that should be enough to take the sag out of the forestay. Plumb the mast with a halyard to see how much rake (backward lean) you impart, it shouldn't be more than an inch or so. If you don't have one, a backstay adjuster is a very handy device, consider upgrading your rig thusly. Otherwise, you might have to raise the drum to get at the forestay turnbuckle.
Do Not Forget To Loosen Adjuster
That split backstay and adjuster is wonderful, but remember to loosen the adjuster at the end of the day to get the tension off the bow sprit and forstay. Its amazing how "relaxed" the rigging gets when the line is loosened when back in dock. Good practice to get into. George, I have the "88 model" with tall rig and the bowsprit, so no need to adjust the forestay when the backstay adjuster will do fine for all kinds of weather. Bob '88 Catalina
That split backstay and adjuster is wonderful, but remember to loosen the adjuster at the end of the day to get the tension off the bow sprit and forstay. Its amazing how "relaxed" the rigging gets when the line is loosened when back in dock. Good practice to get into. George, I have the "88 model" with tall rig and the bowsprit, so no need to adjust the forestay when the backstay adjuster will do fine for all kinds of weather. Bob '88 Catalina
rasied drum and eased backstay
well, I tightened the forestay and eased the back stay which resulted with the mast being more plumb (1 inch vs 5 inches using the halyard plumbing method, good idea I might add! thanks Joe). Now, I wonder how much tension is good/bad with bowsprit after Bob's comment about relaxing the backstay tension at end of day. Is it OK to have a tight rigging and just leave it that way? I noticed that, even with the uppershrouds good and tight like the fore and backstays, the lower shrouds tend to slack slightly when on leeward side of sail load. The mast is always straight to the eye from the base up and I keep making slight adjustments every time out...am I just nuts or is it OK not to be obsessed about the mast and the rigging? Had the boat 5 weeks now and it just keeps surprising me in a good way. thanks George Cat 30 TRBS-WK, 1988 #5214
well, I tightened the forestay and eased the back stay which resulted with the mast being more plumb (1 inch vs 5 inches using the halyard plumbing method, good idea I might add! thanks Joe). Now, I wonder how much tension is good/bad with bowsprit after Bob's comment about relaxing the backstay tension at end of day. Is it OK to have a tight rigging and just leave it that way? I noticed that, even with the uppershrouds good and tight like the fore and backstays, the lower shrouds tend to slack slightly when on leeward side of sail load. The mast is always straight to the eye from the base up and I keep making slight adjustments every time out...am I just nuts or is it OK not to be obsessed about the mast and the rigging? Had the boat 5 weeks now and it just keeps surprising me in a good way. thanks George Cat 30 TRBS-WK, 1988 #5214
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