Shroud Tension

[senseipower]

Hi,
I have an old 1977 Hunter 30. I recently took my mast down and I am about to restep it. I was wondering if anyone knows the proper tension for the upper and lower shrouds. I use a Loos Tension Gauge to measure it.

John

 

[Ed Schenck]

Isn't there a cheat sheet on the gauge? It is a percentage of the wire rating, 10 to 15 is stuck in my feeble mine. Are your shrouds 3/16"? Rigging Only's chart shows their 1x19 wire rated at 4000#. Here's a chart: http://l-36.com/pt2.php .

 

[David in Sandusky]

2 Ways

Ed described what I have heard. Around 15% on the uppers, and around 10% on the lowers.

The other approach is to make sure the mast is in column, and centered above the centerline. Then sail her in a brisk wind. Your leeward stays should still have tension when you are heeled 20 degrees. If they are slack, tighten them a couple of turns. Then tighten the opposing stays the same amount. Then heel to 20 degrees again. Repeat until all stays have tension when they are leeward at 20 degrees.

When I do this, I end up with lower tension - about 11.5% on the uppers, and 10.5% on the lowers.

By the way, if memory serves, our friends' '81 Hunter 30 has 1/4" stays.