Hi all. I went to step the mast on a Hunter 26 that I recently purchased, and the mast was about 90% of the way up, but it would not fully seat. We noticed that the lower shrouds were very tight. We began to loosen the shrouds, and the mast would move further into position as we did. We eventually had to completely remove the lowers to get the mast seated, and they appeared to be a few inches too short (fully extended). When we lowered the mast, we removed the shrouds, and there was some slight bending on the stem ball, but not enough to account for the 2-3" short we were. Have any of you ever heard of this? Is it something I am doing wrong?
Hunter 26 upper and lower shrouds
- Thread starter johnrobert
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John,
We have a 260 which is very similar in its shroud arrangement. The only problem we have had has been tightness of the side stabilizing bars (they are wires on the 26), never with the lower shrouds. If you're seeing bending on the stem balls, and if you didn't exert enough force to bend them yourself, then this condition goes back to the Previous Owner (PO). My first action would be to contact them for additional information, then to examine the full length of the shrouds to see if they have been tightened anywhere else and need to be released more, or if they are binding somewhere else. I don't believe you're doing something wrong - the mast raising system works flawlessly when done carefully.
We have a 260 which is very similar in its shroud arrangement. The only problem we have had has been tightness of the side stabilizing bars (they are wires on the 26), never with the lower shrouds. If you're seeing bending on the stem balls, and if you didn't exert enough force to bend them yourself, then this condition goes back to the Previous Owner (PO). My first action would be to contact them for additional information, then to examine the full length of the shrouds to see if they have been tightened anywhere else and need to be released more, or if they are binding somewhere else. I don't believe you're doing something wrong - the mast raising system works flawlessly when done carefully.
Sometimes our shroud tangs get crossways in their mast seat as the mast is being raised. We've noticed this puts pre-mature tension in the shrouds during the process. When it happens, we typically lower the mast enough to wiggle the shrouds and reseat the tangs.
Is this the first time you've tried to raise this mast?
Sounds to me like you have your inner and outer shrouds crossed at the chainplates. (V1 & D1). Easy to do if you or the PO disconnected them at the chainplates and put them back incorrectly.
This happened to me once. The only difference between the H260 and the H26 rigging is the additional diagonal shroud (RD1).
Also, if you have bent t-balls (often called t-bolts). I suggest you get the shrouds replaced. If your boat is more than 10 years old or has been in salt water, I'd consider this at any rate. Having a rigging failure can ruin your whole day - and it usually takes several months and a months pay to get a replacement mast.
At the very least have a qualified rigger look carefully at each stay looking for broken strands or bends. There is a lot of information on this problem at this link:
http://h260.com/rigging/rigging.html
Now that your rig tension is out of whack you can use the instructions in the above link to set it up correctly.
Misaligned T-balls is a common problem with trailerable boats. Here is some info on how to deal with this issue.
http://h260.com/headstay/headstay.html
Sounds to me like you have your inner and outer shrouds crossed at the chainplates. (V1 & D1). Easy to do if you or the PO disconnected them at the chainplates and put them back incorrectly.
This happened to me once. The only difference between the H260 and the H26 rigging is the additional diagonal shroud (RD1).
Also, if you have bent t-balls (often called t-bolts). I suggest you get the shrouds replaced. If your boat is more than 10 years old or has been in salt water, I'd consider this at any rate. Having a rigging failure can ruin your whole day - and it usually takes several months and a months pay to get a replacement mast.
At the very least have a qualified rigger look carefully at each stay looking for broken strands or bends. There is a lot of information on this problem at this link:
http://h260.com/rigging/rigging.html
Now that your rig tension is out of whack you can use the instructions in the above link to set it up correctly.
Misaligned T-balls is a common problem with trailerable boats. Here is some info on how to deal with this issue.
http://h260.com/headstay/headstay.html
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