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A generic answer .....
The side shrouds should be tight enough so when the boat is on a beat and keeling in 15-18 kts that the leeward shrouds are 'just beginning to be noticably loose' .... plus that the mast stays straight with no bends to either side when looking up along the sail track (when heeled at 15_kts.) The forestay receives tension from the backstay so one should adjust the backstay so that when sailing well heeled at 15 kts the 'sag' of the forestay *matches' the curve that the sailmaker originally put into the luff of sail ..... about 4-6" on your particular boat. The 'technical' answer is 12-15% of the breaking strength of the wire -- with the backstay occasionally being adjusted to upwards of 20-25% to keep the forestay from 'sagging' too much when 'beating hard to wind' --- the backstay being unloaded back to 'normal' when done sailing for the day. Hope this helps.
The side shrouds should be tight enough so when the boat is on a beat and keeling in 15-18 kts that the leeward shrouds are 'just beginning to be noticably loose' .... plus that the mast stays straight with no bends to either side when looking up along the sail track (when heeled at 15_kts.) The forestay receives tension from the backstay so one should adjust the backstay so that when sailing well heeled at 15 kts the 'sag' of the forestay *matches' the curve that the sailmaker originally put into the luff of sail ..... about 4-6" on your particular boat. The 'technical' answer is 12-15% of the breaking strength of the wire -- with the backstay occasionally being adjusted to upwards of 20-25% to keep the forestay from 'sagging' too much when 'beating hard to wind' --- the backstay being unloaded back to 'normal' when done sailing for the day. Hope this helps.
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