Turnbuckles out of room... shrouds still loose.

[John Krellner]

I have a 1981 Catalina 22 that I just bought this year, and I am new to sailing. I've read some of the archives about the shroud tension, and realized that my shrouds are too loose. Unfortunatly I'm out of room on some of the turnbuckles and cannot tighten them any more. Is there somewhere I can buy a shorter turnbuckle or do I have to get the shrouds adjusted? If so how do I do that?Appriciate the help!

 

[Ted]

Mast Shim will do the Trick

No more adjustment left in the turnbuckles . . been there done that. . .The quick and easy why to resolve the problem is to put a shim under the mast. The C22 racing rules allow for up to a 1 inch shim to stay within the "rules". I used a 3/4" piece of TEAK and cut/shaped it to go undermneath the mast pivot plate (aka tabernackle).Raising the mast that slight amount put that much adjustment back into all of the shrouds/stays.Go for it.

 

[Shane]

Better yet

Find out why your shrouds are loose..... is it stretch?.... is it a rotten compression post?... is it weak chain plates? This could be something in which you might loose your mast. It is best to fix the problem and not just bandage it.Fair Winds,Shane.

 

[Ray Bowles]

Ted

I know that all the underpinnings on my C22 are all sound(chainplates, backing plates

 

[tom b]

out of adjustment on your turnbuckles

do you run out of threads at the top and bottoms of the turnbuckle or do the threads hit or touch each other inside the turnbuckle.. either way, sounds like they are stretched and should be replaced.. if the threads are touching inside, you can cut them down a little and still have a few more turns to go, thus, being able to tighten a little more. I did this for awhile on mine, but bought new ones as soon as I could afford it. Catalina Direct wants a pretty penny to replace them all at once, so I just bought em one at time. In pairs of course, front sides, back sides, etc...good luck..

 

[jkrellner]

Thanks!

Great words from everyone thank you! The shim is working as a good short term fix. I had pondered using a dremel tool to cut off some of the theads off of the turnbuckles, but with the teak shim I did not have to do that.I've check the chain plates and compression post and they appear to be sound.Next season I think I will start replacing the shrouds which I am guessing have stretched a little over time. Many thanks!