Mast rake update

[Alan]

Well guys(girls), the mast rake that we set at 15" seems to have worked. In our first Wed. nite race of the season we took first place! Winds from as light as 6kts to as high as 17 when the skies opened up and turned on the fire hoses. We ran away from the fleet. The main trimmer worked the traveller to perfection in the puffs so that we stayed up on our feet with speed. The run home saw speeds of 7.6 under jib & main with a 3 man crew. Best of all, the boat is pointing 3 degrees higher than last year which is going to translate into better height and therefore a shorter course to the marks...Yahooo

 

[Capt'n Bob]

Interesting Post

Alan,Your info about the change in your mast rake is a most intersting issue. I am surprised that there were not more questions.As to your new rake ??What was the condition of the side shrouds when you measured the rake ??Was the mast straight up and down with little shroud tension ??Was the mast prebend set as the shrouds were brought into full tension when you measured your new rake ??How much did you have to enxtend your forestay ??Did you have to cut off some of the ends of the side shrouds in order to set the side stay tension ??During your race with your HL35, how did you determine when and how you were in trim - fore and aft ??Its race timeRD

 

[Alan]

Rake

The rake on the mast can only be measured with the shroud tension released. Once you introduce prebend into the mast, the true rake can no longer be measuered. Retensioning the shrouds will then put back the prebend. With the headstay turnbuckle set at about 1/4, I started to retune the rig. I knew that the limiting factor was the D2 or intermediate shroud turnbuckle which, as it ended up, has no more adjustment left. The LOOS gauge shows the D1 shroud just off the scale at about 2500lbs. The D3 or lower shroud also is set at 2500lbs. At this point I cannot put anymore rake in without shortening the D2 shroud. The result, however, has given me a faster boat with a higher point angle.