Rig Tuning
Spring is in the air, masts are out of tune. There are several posts with a similar question out right now about tensioning and tuning our rigs. The answer of necessity goes beyond data tables for rig tension to setting up a properly tuned mast. This is because our B&R rigs have so many manufacturing and setup variables from one hull to the next, no single set of numbers accurately cover even sister boats. There is an excelent discussion of B&R rig tuning in the Reference Library, found in the "More Fun" tab in the home page. My personal thanks to the author of that article. My one addition might be that you can get a pretty good sight of your athwartship straightness by putting your eye right next to the aft edge of the mast and sighting up the sail track. This is necessary as you tune the rig under load at sea on both tacks. Another great reference on that subject is Bryon Toss' "The Rigger's Apprentice". By the way, I've attended his seminar, "Tuning Your Rig" and that's what led me to believe we need to look beyond the first easy setup information. My personal experience was after learning more rig tuning theory I took a closer look at my rig (H30, 1989) and corrected a minor tuning flaw that made my port and starboard tacks asymetrical. Good luck Sylvio
