Mast bend h240

DJN51 · Jul 6, 2014

Have you tried loosening rear upper turnbuckles?

twalker H260 · Jul 6, 2014

Looks like you need to retune the shrouds. Here is a link to a better discussion on it. Detailed set up is listed in the link to Ray Bowles mast tensioning procedure on the same page.

http://www.h260.com/rigging/rigging.html
Unless there is evidence some previous owner changed the position of things or replaced parts I would work on the assumption hardware is correct but tension/set up is incorrect and redo from scratch. The mast struts are critical for mast raising and lowering and provide some assistance to mast rigidity and position when raised. If they were affecting mast bend they where also over tightened.

dw1436 · Jul 6, 2014

Jammed Rigging

I have the same boat. When raising the mast confirm that the shackles on each side of the boat are not in a bind where they are attached near the rub rail. (Slide up the white plastic covers) This is a very common problem and it almost takes two people to raise the mast just to make sure these are not jammed. I would check this before I made any adjustments and got the rigging out of tune. If this is the case it is a simple fix. Lower the mast and when raising it again make sure the rigging is not jammed.

Justin said:
Hi

Just wondering if anyone has had a problem with too much mast bend? And do they know the cause or solution?

I was thinking of a couple of causes and was after people thoughts: spreaders are they too long and do they need to be shortened? The mast step does it need to be moved forward slightly? I have removed the rig assisters and this had slightly decreased the mast bend.

I have attached a photo to show the bend

View attachment 77912

Sean Coerse · Jul 7, 2014

My mast bend is similar to yours. Bought the boat new in 98 from Crazy Dave. Race it, cruise it and days ail it. Been a great boat but will be going bigger in 4 years when I retire.

justsomeguy · Jul 7, 2014

"Crazy Dave" signed off on that much mast bend?

caverun · Jul 7, 2014

I have been dealing with my 240 mast and Crazy Dave gave me a call to help. First, are the "rig assisters" the metal mast struts? If so, you should not sail without those according to the owners manual. On the B&R rig, I found that you use the forestay to set the mast rake, then leave it alone. Tightening the upper shrouds increases mast bend (and rig tension), while tightening the lower shrouds decreases mast bend. The reverse diagonals add bend when tightened, so adjust those either to get some pre-bend before you tension the shrouds, or as Crazy Dave told me, leave them to last. I'm sure he will chime in here soon.

justsomeguy · Jul 7, 2014

caverun said:
snip- I'm sure he will chime in here soon.

I hope so.

Crazy Dave Condon · Jul 8, 2014

looking at that photo, there is too much prebend in that rig. I would start all over on the tuning Justin and this comes from being involved with this boat personally and as a dealer and by the way I was the top dealer per the Hunter plaque.

You will want to see if the forestay turn buckle studs are in the turnbuckle body about a third of the way or to one half at most. Then from there, here is what I would suggest with everything else loose except for the upper or outer shrouds.

1. Check the top of the mast in the middle of the boat which you can do by using a tape or the main halyard by side to side measurments suggesting the chain plates.

2. When the top of the mast is centered, you will want to turn the turnbuckles (keep upper stud from turning) until you achieve a 3 to 4 inch from the back of the mast where the boom attaches to a line or the main halyard again coming straight down bearing in mind that the boat is level on ground or in the water. Suggest turning the turnbuckles equally.

3. Look up the sail track and align straight by turning the lower shrouds until that sail track is straight up and down. Turn the turnbuckles evenly until you have a slight bend.

4. Then adjust the upper shrouds again. You can use a guage but an old salty seadog taught me by using your upper two fingers without moving your hand, you should by pulling with the two fingers be able to obtain about 1-2 inch movement in the upper shrouds inward of course.

5. Readjust the bend to a slight bend backwards by tightening the lower shrouds equally.

6. Tighten the inverted shrouds equally until snug or barely tight. If the upper portion of the mast is bowed out sideways, loosen the opposite side to straighten that out. You might have to tighten the other side a little. Those are the ones from the lower of the mast upward to the spreader bars.

One thing to do at the beginning is to remove the struts from the mast and then reattach. You might have to readust those when putting them back on.

Go out sailing and see what happens then. Hope this helps.

As to the question posed earlier if tuning a mast that far backwards, heck no.

Sean Course. Good to see you are still there. I am now retired and in a couple of months when the house is finished, not only will I have 340% views of the mountains but the beginning of the James River is in my backyard. Yep, I am going home as Goshen and Lexington are my grass roots. You cannot take the mountains out of this old mountain boy. Stay in touch my friend and I will send you my new address.

Winkali · Oct 21, 2014

I have just re-tuned my rig, so thank you to everyone who contributed here, especially crazy Dave.

My mast had more than 8 inches of mast bend, and at least 12 inches of rake.

I thought it was made that way until I read these threads.

I put the mast up, and slackened off all of the shrouds.

Then I made sure that the forestry turnbuckle was done up at least half way.

Then I adjusted the shrouds as Dave recommends and followed Rays instructions.

The mast now has a rake of about 6 inches, and a mast bend of about 2 inches.

I am using a Loos gauge to check the tension.

Can't wait to go sailing and try out all the new settings.

Thanks again, everyone.

Crazy Dave Condon · Oct 21, 2014

Justin;

Performance of your boat is adversely affected with that too much bend. The first thing to do is relax the shrouds and intermediates to untune the rig. Then with mast up, take off the side braces which I will refer to struts and detach those. Generally in the beginning, I use to set up the 240 rigging with appx. 1/3 of the studs in the fore and back stay and if any slack, I would adjust equally as a starting point. Then I would take a tape measure or a no stretch line up to the top of the mast to adjust the top of the mast so it is in the center of the boat by the length going to the shroud chain plate on each side of course with the lower shrouds and intermediates loose. I would tighten the uppers until I got a prebend of 3-4 inches from the back of the mast where the boom attaches to that line hanging down which you measured with for centering the top of the mast of course with the boat level in the water or on the trailer (more attention to being level on the trailer which I used a level).

Then I took the lowers ands barely tightened them. Then I looked up the back of the mast in the sail slide track and used the lowers to center the sail slide track. If it leaned to the port for example, then I centered it tightening the starboard lower shroud until the slide track is even going up to the top. Equially I adjusted or tightened the lowers with the same amount of turns each side which took out a lot of the prebend. Then I would tighten the upper shrouds equally until tight. How tight? I was shown by an old respected riggers without gauges taking my upprer two fingers placing them behind the upper shroud and pull that shroud inward without using my hand or arm until I had about 1-2 inches inward.

As for the intermediates, I would tighten those by hand only until barely tight. If you over tighten, the upper part of the mast would bend on the opposite side which you do not want. Once done, I would then reattach the struts.

This would give you a good starting point which to start with and in the end, 3-4 inch prebend is what you want to achieve. Go sailing and see what the rig does then. You may have to readjust or fine tune the struts as well. When attaching/removing from the mast base, wiggle wiggle the mast and you will also see how easy that pin goes in or comes out.

Sean;

If you have that much prebend, you will need to readjust. This is how I tuned all the water ballast series. Good Luck Justin. If you need further help, email me via forum.

Winkali · Oct 22, 2014

Hi all,

I did the final adjustment using the Loos gauge, and the Loos recommended 10% of breaking strain.

This is way too tight and you run the risk of damaging the boat.

I would struggle to raise the mast and connect the forestay with these values in place. It would all have to be readjusted every time I put the boat in the water.

I backed off the stays to Daves advice of two fingers and one to two inches. Perfect.

The Loos values when loosened a little are about 8% of breaking strain.

Don't over tighten the revers diagonals, as this will pull the top of the mast more and increase mast bend.

Don't be frightened to attempt this job, it is really straightforward. But get a plumb bob, to help you make sure things are straight, and take before and after photos.

As Dave says, ease everything off, and start slowly, checking all the time.

I have finished up with about 3 inches of mast bend, and 6 to 8 inches of overall mast rake. The forestay is tight but not overtight.

I read a tip to use the boom vang connected to the trailer to exert downward pull on the forestay, rather then keep pulling the mast forward with the mast raising rig. This works really well, and is much kinder to your rig.

Cheers