Russ, My Merit 22 doesn't have the seams in the liner or any additional brace to the chainplate like shown in your pics. As far as the shrouds, like you, I use a Loos gauge and tighten the uppers to about 15% of breaking strength and the lowers to 10%. 35 and 30 or thereabouts. In heavy wind the leeward lower will be loose but not quite a goose neck noodle but the upper is relatively straight under 20 knts. It looks like your liner might have been compromised at some point for that repair to exist, so you might have to beef up the chainplate linkage in addition to the brace you added. You can cut a window in the liner in the locker to see separation and tab the liner to the hull. The liner was stuck down with a slurry of filled polyester? resin, so you will have to grind away to get to the hull, etc. Good luck, and; hopefully mine is still intact but I may put a port in to check it sometime. On my Merit 22 there is a glassed in circle (to tighten the nuts?) there in the locker that I assume the factory did as it was gelcoated over. My boat was also race heavily in SF Bay and the PO added a bulb to the keel. I have beefed up the compression post, but see no unintended consequences from the added weight. I sail out from a mooring in Port San Luis, and the wind is often over 15 knts. Friday, I double reefed and thought about putting the third in.
. photos are a before and after noting the short jib that came with the boat. it was limp bedsheet anyway and past due for replacement even if it had been the right size.
