Hello fellow Beneteau owners.
I am a new sailor who got lucky and was able to purchase a 1983 First 38 for a bargain price, and am now trying to catch up with "too much boat" for my little experience. I hope you will be able to help me with this one:
There are two steel cables hanging from my mast, each ending with an end fitting with an eye almost at the height of the deck. After some research, I believe these may be running backstays. I don't know if these came from the factory or were added by the first owner who was a serious racer.
I hope someone can tell me:
1) Did First 38's come with running backstays or were these an addition?
2) Although I am sure that one day these will come in handy, for now all I want is to secure them so they won't be banging against the mast, or get tangled with the various halyards coming down the mast. Any suggestions as to how I may go about doing this? (I understand that properly rigging running backstays involves the use of various blocks, but if there's a simpler solution I would be equally interested).
Thank you in advance.
JM
I am a new sailor who got lucky and was able to purchase a 1983 First 38 for a bargain price, and am now trying to catch up with "too much boat" for my little experience. I hope you will be able to help me with this one:
There are two steel cables hanging from my mast, each ending with an end fitting with an eye almost at the height of the deck. After some research, I believe these may be running backstays. I don't know if these came from the factory or were added by the first owner who was a serious racer.
I hope someone can tell me:
1) Did First 38's come with running backstays or were these an addition?
2) Although I am sure that one day these will come in handy, for now all I want is to secure them so they won't be banging against the mast, or get tangled with the various halyards coming down the mast. Any suggestions as to how I may go about doing this? (I understand that properly rigging running backstays involves the use of various blocks, but if there's a simpler solution I would be equally interested).
Thank you in advance.
JM