Sailboat Standing Rigging Tension

These are for standing rigging.

Sailboat standing rigging tension.

There is a simple criterion for shroud tension. I am finishing a homemade sailboat. The proper value for your boat can be found by a few trial runs under sail. As always we recommend seeking the advice of a professional rigger for more specific tips and tricks regarding tuning your boat s rigging.

No stainless steel cables in stock i have checked. The loos tension gauges take the guesswork out of cable or rod tension adjustment. Even new boats are not immune from problems they inevitably deform under the considerable loads of their rig and therefore will need to be re tuned after a period of use. To make backstay tension affect the headstay tension as much as possible tighten the lowers.

Backstay tension will bend the mast and add some headstay tension. The standing rigging on the other hand is left standing there. The second is the tricky one. That way if you stuff up you can at least return to this setting.

The initial rigging tension should be high enough that the leeward shrouds do not go slack when sailing close hauled in a reasonably brisk breeze. Willing to order the 1 x 9 1 8 316 cable and do the swaging myself. Get the mast s standing upright in the boat 2. Planning on using eye and turnbuckle studs at the ends of the cables as i do have turnbuckles left from another boat.

Many yachts have poorly adjusted standing rigging that can impair performance and handling as well as threatening the security of the rig. Release the tension in the backstay check that you are happy with fore and aft and sideways deflections. Running rigging is thought of more often with sailing as sailors use them to set trim and adjust the sails. Contrary to popular thought a slack rig is more punishing on a hull than a properly adjusted tight rig.

To get the mast to bend more easily ease off the lowers. Here are some general guidelines for tuning your mast s standing rigging please see our blog on how to properly adjust a turnbuckle before you begin. The rig is now tuned for maximum headstay tension which is often difficult to achieve. Once the rig is set up as described here tensioning the backstay whilst sailing will affect the curve in the upper part of the mast only as the area around the spreaders is fixed by the opposing forces of the shrouds.

It is easy to think of standing rigging and running rigging as two different parts on a sailboat but in fact they both share the same goal. Before you loosen any rigging mark its tension with a piece of tape or a cable tie on the thread above the turnbuckle. They are especially designed for accurate repeatable tuning of a sailboat s standing rigging.