Stepping Mast Singlehanded

[Jay Chase]

Proud sailor today! Stepped the mast for the first time and single handed too! Modified a system I saw on YouTube.

How tight should the shrouds be? I saw a tension measuring device, but I don’t have one and I want to ensure I am in the ball park before I launch next week.

 

[sail sfbay]

My two cents: They should be tight enough that when you push or pull on them, they don't want to jiggle around too much. If they feel loose or floppy, you need to tighten them further. Once the cap shrouds are set, the rest of the shrouds simply follow in sequential order with none of them being tighter than the cap shrouds.

Might find these threads helpful:

O day 222 anniversary rigging tension guide

Ahoy all, I am new to the sailing world and would like to know if anyone has a rigging tension guid Or a resource where I can get one

forums.sailboatowners.com

Rig tension O'day 26

After 10 years sailing Mcgregors,22catalina,and Endless Summer,our O'day 26.I have always set the standing rigging till it feels right. not to tight not to loose. does anyone know the proper amount of tension for the upper & lower shrouds. Fore & aft stays............Terry, thanks for the link...

forums.sailboatowners.com

Might purchase a manual here if you do not have and refer to its shroud tension procedure: I Heart O'Days - Manuals

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I find that it takes a sail or two to get them tight. I assume parts of the deck are "settling" at the begining of the season

 

[Noodat Lady]

Do NOT buy a tension measuring device.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Why would you not want to know you have equal tension on both sides?

 

[Noodat Lady]

Because, unless you are a serious racer with a keel-stepped mast to take the high tensions involved, for the rest of us with mundane, fun, recreational boats, usually with deck-stepped masts, tensions are low and not critical. Approximate works; "feel" works. Basically following sail sfbay's guidelines above works.

The reason for my strong opinion that recreational sailors should actively avoid tension gauges is that therewith lies the seemingly inevitable progression towards unnecessarily high tensions that then cause your cabin roof to droop, or strain cables, especially shrouds, to near or past their breaking point with potentially catastrophic results. I've seen it too often.

 

[Joe]

Every sailboat owners manual I've seen, and I've seen about 30, has a specific section on setting up the rig. None of them refer to a tension gauge. If you don't have a manual for your boat, just do a google search on the subject.
I trailer sailed my Nacra 5.2 for years, never had need for one. What is handy, though, is to use quick release shroud connectors that use pins, rather than turnbuckles for setting the tension. Way, way faster and easier.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Even a deck stepped mast tranfers its weight to the keel via a cabin pole or load bearing bulkhead. If your cabin "droops" you've got other problems

 

[Noodat Lady]

Even a deck stepped mast tranfers its weight to the keel via a cabin pole or load bearing bulkhead.

That is certainly the theory.

 

[Justin_NSA]

That is certainly the theory.

I'd call it fact. Unless an owner hacked the original design. The exception being nonkeeled boats. But even they xfer to the bottom.

 

[Noodat Lady]

I'd call it fact. Unless an owner hacked the original design. The exception being nonkeeled boats. But even they xfer to the bottom.

This is probably heading towards an impasse, but.....

With a keel-stepped mast you have a single pole with a uniform flexion. With a deck-stepped mast you have a jointed limb with a discontinuity at the tabernacle. Some boat manufacturers succeed in triangulating the supporting framework better than do others, but the system is inherently weaker.

Plus age of boats exacerbates any weakness in the triangulating members. What's the average age of boats on this forum? Mine are 21 and 47 years old.

 

[Justin_NSA]

You are right Bob. Each to his own methods. I'm confident of a very rigid xfer from mast base to keel. Other boats like old Catalinas have problems with rotting support.

 

[Joe]

You are right Bob. Each to his own methods. I'm confident of a very rigid xfer from mast base to keel. Other boats like old Catalinas have problems with rotting support.

I don't think I've heard or read anything about Catalina 27's having compression post issues. Because the posts are metal, encased in teakwood. There is also a reinforcing beam across the cabin roof. The issue you may be thinking of is the wood base plate in the bilge that the post is adjacent to. One of my boat's previous owners water proofed the pad and it has been dry for the 21 years I've had the boat. Another known issue is water finding its way into the interior bulkheads via the connected cap shroud chain plates, which can lead to bulkhead damage. There was another issue that Catalina actually designed and produced a retrofit... this regarding the 4 lower shrouds and their inadequate deck attachment... which could cause the deck area to buckle with too much strain of the guys. Knowing these and other tendencies of older boats is important so the owner can anticipate the problem and take preventative action. That's the advantage of having strong owner groups and. as in Catalina's case, continuing factory support for all the boats they've ever built and their current owners.

Some boats, not necessarily very old ones, are built to maximize interior space and the compression post has been left out of the design. Choose wisely padawan.

 

[Brian S]

There are no rig tension specs for the average O'day in the manual. I like mine to be tight enough so that the leeward shroud doesn't go loose and move around close hauled at about 10 knots of wind.

 

[Sunbird22358]

O'DAY 23 Original Manual/Rigging guide says this (pretty much same for all O'DAYs under 27'):
"After all stays are securely attached, take the slack out of the rigging and tighten. With the mast plumb (in a vertical position), the Headstay, Backstay, the two upper Sidestays, should he tightened 3-5 turns more than hand tight. The two lower Sidestays should be just taut, not hand tight.
CAUTION: It is very important that you do not tighten the stays too much, as this can cause damage to the hull and deck. Also, periodically you should inspect the chainplates for corrosion and the deck area around them for rotted core.
After the stays have been adjusted, take a pair of pliers (even better, use a wrench), tighten the lock nuts on the turnbuckles which will prevent the turnbuckles from unwinding. To be on the safe side, we strongly recommend that you wire and tape the turnbuckles so they will not unwind."

I think most model years of the 23-2 had "open-body" turnbuckles, so they would use cotter pins or split-rings through holes in the threaded studs to secure the turnbuckles from unwinding rather than lock-nuts used on smaller boats, but otherwise, this is how My Father and I have always "tuned" the rigging of our boats.

 

[Noodat Lady]

I would clarify "hand tight": I have known farmers whose "hand tight" is up in the 50 lb-ft range. To me hand tight on small boat turnbuckles means with your thumb and two fingers, no tighter. Also 3-5 full turns sounds high, I'd think that many half turns.

I'd also say "never pliers". My term for pliers is nut-f****rs. Always use a small Crescent; get a 4" one to keep in your pocket.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I would clarify "hand tight": I have known farmers whose "hand tight" is up in the 50 lb-ft range.

 

[Sunbird22358]

"Hand-Tight" means the reasonable limit on being able to turn the adjustable part of the turnbuckles by hand. But yes, will vary fro mone person to another.

 

[Noodat Lady]

"Hand-Tight" means the reasonable limit on being able to turn the adjustable part of the turnbuckles by hand. But yes, will vary fro mone person to another.

Only by a factor of 10 or 20 times though. Very useful.

 

[JRacer]

The way I do it is to center the top of mast by measuring equal distance from the top to a point equidistant from the bow along the toe rail on each side using the main halyard. Then pull it into column with the lowers. At that point, I use Loos gauge to see what loads I have on all shrouds. From experience, I then tighten the shrouds to my recorded points. Then I sail the boat and depending on wind conditions, I tighten or loosen. If in 10kts I find that the leeward shrouds have slack, I tighten and record the Loos Guage reading (back at the dock) - it's trial and error until you have kept records, or just know from experience. What the Loos guage gives you is a relative reference point. With experience and records, I can set the rig for given conditions before I leave the dock. Don't discount the value of a Loos Guage. Agree with Noodat Lady that one can overtighten a rig and cause damage but you can do that with or without a measurement tool.