New to b&r rig lots of prebend on furling mast

[Windchaser H38]

Hi All
I'm new to the b&r rig and also new to in mast furling. I just purchased a Hunter 38 with both and the mast has a lot of bend in it. I estimate 10 inches. Also the outer shroud stays feel very tight. I read that the mast should be almost straight. I am not sure why the previous owner had it rigged this way and the surveyor was not helpful in this regard.
I have always tuned the rig on previous boats I owned but those were standard masthead rigs.
So I have a few questions...
Is this normal?
Should I worry about damage to the rig?
If it's not then how should I approach fixing it?
Thanks

 

[quadrille38]

I have a 2008 38. I can’t say for certain but 10 inches seems like a lot. Unfortunately my selden manual is on the boat and I’ve already put her away for the season. In fact with the in mast furling I’d think you‘d want mast to be pretty straight to avoid binding of the furler. Perhaps you could go to the selden site and get information from them. I did find in another thread a link to a tuning manual for B&R rig.
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/attachments/hunter-386-tune-b-r-rig-pdf.195788/

I’m not sure how helpful it will be but here are a couple of pictures of out boat and the mast looks pretty straight to me.

 

[chuckwayne]

I have a 2008 38. I can’t say for certain but 10 inches seems like a lot. Unfortunately my selden manual is on the boat and I’ve already put her away for the season. In fact with the in mast furling I’d think you‘d want mast to be pretty straight to avoid binding of the furler. Perhaps you could go to the selden site and get information from them. I did find in another thread a link to a tuning manual for B&R rig.
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/attachments/hunter-386-tune-b-r-rig-pdf.195788/

I’m not sure how helpful it will be but here are a couple of pictures of out boat and the mast looks pretty straight to me.
View attachment 234622

on our 356 the non-in-mast called for 8" of prebend but for the in-mast is was only 2". you've got way too much. the selden tuning instructions should be followed carefully - probably available for your boat on the forum here

 

[marcham]

8 to 10 in is about right. It's probably overdue for a rigging inspection by a rigger? The H38 owner's manual has the prebend info in it.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Windchaser H38]

I went sailing today so I was able to check the manual. The manual says that for an in mast furling the mast should be almost straight with a slight curve of less than 2 inches. I posted a picture of my mast with the topping lift pulled taught against the mast. You can see that most of f the curve is above the top spreader and looks greater than six inches. The lower reverse diagonals and the lower verticals very tight. I have never had a rig this tight on previous boats. I suspect the same for the upper reverse diagonals which is probably causing the excessive bend.

 

[marcham]

If you don't think the pre bend is correct, the mast has to be removed and tuned while laying horizontal....

 

[Windchaser H38]

Instructions in the manual says it can be done with the mast already stepped. It would require that someone goes up the mast to adjust the upper diagnals.

 

[ice breaker]

I have adjusted while stepped. Just make sure the turnbuckles get lubed before adjusting to prevent the threads from galling.

 

[quadrille38]

I have been doing some further digging in manuals and on line sources. What I’m finding says non furling mast no more than 8 inches. Furling mast no more than 2 inches.

 

[marcham]

Fine tuning is possible when stepped. If you are out by several inches, it needs to be redone from scratch on the hard.

 

[shemandr]

Instructions in the manual says it can be done with the mast already stepped. It would require that someone goes up the mast to adjust the upper diagnals.

I'm sure it can be done with the mast up but it won't be easy to do.
Any adjustment of the upper rigging has to be planned from the deck. Once you are up the mast the tensions on the rigging will be skewed by your weight. That means that you can't measure tensions and adjust on the fly. You would have to descend, evaluate and re-climb to adjust.

 

[Windchaser H38]

The only difficult part for me this time will be paying the rigger. He will be tuning the rig today so I will let you know how it goes!
Thanks for all the replies.

 

[JimHansen77]

The only difficult part for me this time will be paying the rigger. He will be tuning the rig today so I will let you know how it goes!
Thanks for all the replies.

How did it go?

 

[Windchaser H38]

The day the rigger came the wind picked up and we ran out of daylight so he was only able to complete the job. Then the nor'easter hit. Boat is coming out next week so it might have to be completed on the hard.

 

[JimHansen77]

The day the rigger came the wind picked up and we ran out of daylight so he was only able to complete the job. Then the nor'easter hit. Boat is coming out next week so it might have to be completed on the hard.

Thanks. I'm in the same situation as you. The PO had the standing rigging replaced last year and the bend in the mast is pretty extreme.

 

[SteveHughessails]

I tuned my 240 with B&R rigging. The prebend was/is still quite pronounced. I’m watching your results too.