Side stay tension

[fourbabygrands]

Hello all
I have a 26ft catalina capri and am curious about the side stay tension...I had the spar professional replaced and with it, new stays...the rigger out of Annapolis tuned the stays to the following...in the dock, the upper side stays are equal and taught and the lower side stays are not slack, but not real tight either. Under sail the windward upper and lower side stays are tight and the spar is straight, at the same time the leeward side upper stays have tension and the lower stays are "slack"...does this sound right to most of you?...it has presented a problem, but I'm guessing some of you would find it odd that the lower stays are so slack...insight?

 

[Joe]

First...... if you read the Catalina/Capri owner's manual you will find tuning tips and procedures for your vessel. http://www.capriowners.com/resources.asp?page_id=manual&gid=2

Should you not find what you want in the Catalina manual, there are many good sources for tuning the mast. The article in www.cncphotoalbum.com comes to mind... but many sailmaker's sites will give advice on mast tuning, also.

 

[higgs]

There are no side stays on a sailboat. These are shrouds. Some believe the lower shrouds should go slack on the leeward side. I like to keep the leeward shrouds tight enough to not go slack, but loose enough to easily flex when one pushes on them.

As far as stays are concerned you only have two - a fore stay and a back stay. A cutter rig does have an inner stay for the staysail.

 

[fourbabygrands]

Joe
thanks for the information and the link for side stay adjustment, looks like an informative site and should be helpful in measurement of tension.

 

[fourbabygrands]

...thanks Higgs for the lesson(sic), but keep in mind that commenting on the padantic features in a forum is not at all insightful and destracts interest from the topic.
"It is possible but unlikely that the bond between the deck and hull is broken. If the boat has been hit severely check this area first. Also check in the area of the side stay fittings. If the bond is broken there, you will see a noticeable bulge as the deck pulls away from the hull when pressure is exerted on the stays (while sailing in heavy air)"...TORESSEN MARINE

 

[tigerregis]

Torresen's response just proves "the customer is always right" even when clearly in the wrong. Higgs correction was that and only that. And BTW it is pedantic.

 

[fourbabygrands]

Torresen's response just proves "the customer is always right" even when clearly in the wrong. Higgs correction was that and only that. And BTW it is pedantic.

thanks for the interpretation, the sailing world could never have gotten along without you...I'm glad you know how to use a dictionary, now go look up the word addlebrain.

 

[tigerregis]

Don't need a dictionary to recognise a thin skin.

 

[Jackdaw]

The Capri 26 is a bit of an odd duck rigging wise. It has the aft swept spreaders and 7/8 hounds like a fractional boat, but the forestay goes masthead. Still, the stick is designed to have pre-bend. Normally on pre-bend masts with swept spreaders, the lowers primary function is to limit how much pre-bend the mast has by holding it from bending too much forward. Clearly then the lowers cannot be too tight; they would simply pull the mast back into column (or try).

It does not sound bad to me, but if you are thinking about it a lot, the tuning guide has Loos tension values.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Torreson does engines, mostly. What's wrong with using proper definitions?

 

[Joe]

There are no side stays on a sailboat. These are shrouds. Some believe the lower shrouds should go slack on the leeward side. I like to keep the leeward shrouds tight enough to not go slack, but loose enough to easily flex when one pushes on them.

As far as stays are concerned you only have two - a fore stay and a back stay. A cutter rig does have an inner stay for the staysail.

Sidestay is a perfectly acceptable term....we used the term when dinghy and beachcat sailing all the time.... it's definition is self explantory. BTW, "headstay" is a much more conventionally used term over "forestay"... there can be many "forestays" on a multi masted vessel.. And what about runners, baby stays or bobstays? There are many named stays on a sailboat, depending on the rig and number of masts. I will agree that, in general, a stay decribes a fore and aft mast support, while a shroud is a side mounted stay.

 

[fstbttms]

Sidestay is a perfectly acceptable term...

Disagree. Why not just say, "the pointy end", or "the big stick in the middle"? Because that's not what they're called, that's why. Just because you used the term when discussing your beach cat doesn't mean it's acceptable. It means you were making up terms just like the OP.

 

[Stu Jackson]

or left and right, front and back?

 

[Calif. Ted]

And a headstay is a forestay but a forestay aint a headstay.
kinda nice to know I'm not the only one bothered by sidestays

 

[higgs]

My correction of side stays was not meant to be a disparagement. Obviously,the poster was not seasoned and I was hoping to give him some useful info. Many newbies do not appreciate the need for proper terminology. We use proper terminology to avoid confusion in dangerous situations which inevitably arise. It is good practice to use proper terminology in non emergency situations so that when the emergency arises, one automatically uses the correct terminology and thus is not misunderstood.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Well put and well reasoned.

 

[Joe]

My correction of side stays was not meant to be a disparagement. Obviously,the poster was not seasoned and I was hoping to give him some useful info. Many newbies do not appreciate the need for proper terminology. We use proper terminology to avoid confusion in dangerous situations which inevitably arise. It is good practice to use proper terminology in non emergency situations so that when the emergency arises, one automatically uses the correct terminology and thus is not misunderstood.

I don't think there's any misunderstanding when the term sidestay is used... it is self defining.... but you also added the forestay element to your comment... and just now you said "obviously, the poster is not seasoned..." and that he was a "newbie", how the heck do you know that, because he used a term you don't think is proper? No, my brother, you could have just answered his questions with your own proper terminology and left it at that. Instead, you chose to "top it the knob" on a minor point that has nothing to do with safety or confusion in dangerous situations.

 

[tigerregis]

Joyce Brothers meets Martha Stewart for "a dash of that and a handful of this" without ruffling the feathers of the nannies.

 

[higgs]

Gee Whiz - I was just trying to help. Have it your way. If I am your crew facing aft, and you yell at me that the right side stay has broken, I am going to be confused- what is a side stay? and move to my right which will be the skipper's left and the wrong side to deal with the problem. I know where stays are and I know where shrouds are. On the other hand, if you tell me the starboard upper shroud has broken I will instantly know what you are talking about.

How do I know the poster is not seasoned? Simple. He would know there are no side stays on a sailboat.

 

[tigerregis]

Higgs, good man that you are, do you remember when the bn(paid hand) finally let you join the club? Then, and only then, could you say "I pull strings or go to the pointy end etc?" If anyone is not "schooled", you cannot work as a team. Try to re-bed a winch and just look for a turning bolt with a guy below and can't hear each other. "Start forward and work from S'board around to port and then we'll set them in the same sequence." Everyone understands, every game has its jargon or cant as obscure as it may appear. It seems the "arcane" has entered the class of political correctness and if you use it, you are a snob wearing the blazer and red pants. Love Olcott by the way, have been going there for a lot longer than I wish to recall. Not the same now,unfortunatly.