Tuning 260 again

[Mark]

Spent a few hours setting up the rigging on our new 260. Everything worked fine and it sailed well however I have tried and tried to correct a slight "S" bend in the mast that can be seen when looking up the rope bolt slot. Upper shrouds, lower shrouds even the spreader shround adjustment on the RD1, tighten them up, loosen them off can't seem to get this slight "S" bend out. Has anyone else had the same or can anyone help?This was the maiden voyage and we were very happy with the way she handled. Pointed well, running a bit slow perhaps but all in all good to sail. Breeze was around 10-15 knots swells in the 3-4' range. Interesting that the headsail sheet jammers are lower than the winches however I found this in a way to be an advantage.

 

[Michael Bell]

Side to side?

Mark, are you saying it's an S bend from side to side?Either way I guess, your looking at more tweeking.I'm in the process of installing a Ronstan product called Sealoc. With those replacing the standard turnbuckles (along with the handle kit), it looks like it would make tuning much easier for us trailerables.Take a look at them in most any sailing catalog. Also think a tension guage is a must.

 

[Mark]

Thanks

Hello MichaelYes the "S" bend is from side to side.Regards

 

[Michael Bell]

Keep Tweaking

You'll get it.

 

[John Revenboer]

260 Tuning

I have a 260 and I understand how that "S" bend can drive you "Nuts" trying to get everything perfect. I recommend that you begin with a Rig Tension Guage, available from West Marine that will measure the tension on 1/8th and 5/32nd cable. Then you need to start from a level playing field. Using the main halyard, center the rig in the middle of the boat by first jamming the halyard in a position so that the halyard shackle just contacts aknown point on the port side. Then, with the same tension, move the halyad to the starboard side to the corresponding position. Of course the cables are tensioned hand tight as I center the mast with the halyard. After the mast is centered, I set the mast rake so that a crescent wrench hanging from the main halyard just above the gooseneck, is 6 inches away from the aft face of the mast. With all of the cables tensioned so that none are slack, I set up RD1 which is 1/8th cable to 20% of it's minimum breaking strength. I set RD1 to 353 pounds on the tension guage. I set D1,D2 and V1 to 20% of it's strength to 617 pounds. With all of the tensions set to a standard, the amount of "tweeking" required for any final adjustments is very little and the boat sails so much better than when the rigging is just set according to the "eyeball" method.