Shrouds Tension

[Tom Kiernan]

Does anyone know the tension in lbs for both the (1/8" dia) Fwd/Aft Lower Shrouds and the Upper Shrouds?Mine are ranging between 260 and 450 lbs. Thanks.

 

[Michael McCann]

Tension

Tom:The upper shrouds should only be tight enough to keep the mast head from falling off to leward (bending). The lower shrouds need to keep the mast straight when sailing. While sailing to weather the leward shrouds will appear to have some slack, this is normal. Proper adjustment will require some experimenting, by adjusting, and checking alignment while sailing. I don't believe that there are absolute settings for tension ( if there were we wouldn't have adjustable backstays ), and if someone quotes a figure ask for a referance.Good luck.Michael

 

[Randy]

rig tension

A quote from LOOS & CO. teck division.... Contray to popular thought, a slack rig is more punishing on a hull than a properly adjusted tight rig....Insufficient tension will not reduce the loads transmitted to the hull...Slack rigging will punish the spar and rigging needlessly by allowing excessive movement, chafe and shock loading. this info was taken from the information guide for the "LOOS TENSION GUAGE" For 1/8 inch cable the adjustment is from 10 to 12 persent of the breaking strength or around 240 for shrouds and 320 for the forestay suggested without an adjustable backstay..... By the way, the adjustable backstay is used to bend the mast and shape the sails on my boat......

 

[Michael McCann]

Bend in the mast

Randy;Correct, that is what the adjustable backstay is for, when sailing to weather we tighten the backstay. This does two things, flattens the main, and puts more tension in the forstay. When sailing off the wind we ease the back stay which makes the jib, and the main fuller. The LOOS guide is so that you don't over tighten, and fold your boat up.sincerelyMichael

 

[Jim]

Check this web page

Click on related link for the North Sails tuning guide for the Catalina 22