DIY - Stay tensioning .. 'Old School ways'

Refueler

Refueler

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This is just a post to describe a DIY simple way to set same tension on 'opposite' stays ... it does not mean different stays though ... ie forestay and cap as example.

Lets take Cap Shrouds. We must make make upright and check its not leaning to port or stbd ..... using main or spinnaker halyard to each side of boat does that.

So mast is upright ... how to make tension same without a Loos gauge ?

Simple fishermans gauge and a straight edge ...

Lets assume your lowers (or babys as some calle them) are holding mast but not tensioned.
Cap Shrouds tensioned enough to approx final and with Mast upright.
Fix straight edge across boat toi front of mast so that each end is passed the Cap Shroud each side and level. Mark on it the Cap Shroud position.
Put fisherman scale on Cap Shroud and pull inward till you have a reasonable result on display. Mark the straight edge. Now measure the distance of the two marks. Mark the other leg of the straight edge same.
Now put scale on the other Shroud and pull to that mark ... read display.
You now have option of which to adjust till they read same - keeping in mind of course the mast upright..

Now that Caps are set ... using halyard straight down - check that mast is not bent to one side by lowers (babys) ...

Choose which pair you want to do first ... fwd or rear.

Basically repeat as per the Caps .. taking care not to 'bend' the mast to one side.

Twin backstays same ... which of course will also tension forestay - so rake of mast must be maintained.

I know some will come on and say ... What ?? But its 'old school' and actually works. It just needs user to have an idea of 'feel' on tension .... I have not only that after 30 odd years of Superanne ... but also that if my bog door only just clears the underdeck mast doubling plate - I'm fine !!
 
fredrussell said:
But isn’t that the whole reason for using a Loos (or similar) gauge? You need it set up accurately at least once so you can know what the correct tension ‘feels’ like.
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Fine - but who wants to pay for a Loos Gauge to use it maybe once in a 'blue moon' ....

The post was purely to pass on an 'old school' way ... in no way saying its THE way ...

When you look at the principle of the Loos ... its not far off the weigh scale and straight edge. Its using deflection of unit to a set measurement ... of course in one unit instead of having the straight edge.

Lets be honest most people here would not have difficulty setting up stays without gauge anyway ...
 
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I have always done mine by hand. No guage. When sailing, the leeward rigging should go slightly slack, not floppy. It's a good guage of caps and lowers tension.
We will be rerigging in the next month. 37,000nm on the rig and 10 years. We found a couple of broken strands on the port lower so thought its probably a good time to do it since we will be crossing the pond again next May
 
geem said:
I have always done mine by hand. No guage. When sailing, the leeward rigging should go slightly slack, not floppy. It's a good guage of caps and lowers tension.
We will be rerigging in the next month. 37,000nm on the rig and 10 years. We found a couple of broken strands on the port lower so thought its probably a good time to do it since we will be crossing the pond again next May
Click to expand...

If the leeward side goes slack then every roll of the boat and every tack or gybe is a fatigue duty-cycle for the whole rig. The Selden rigging guide (available here: Rigging instructions & sailmakers guide : Seldén Mast AB ) says that the most common cause of rig failure is rigging that is too loose.
 
Good debate ...

On the subject of leeward slack ... I have always played cautious on this ... having had my knuckles rapped by a rigger many years ago. On a sail ... I noted the stays slack ... actually enough to see movement by eye ... so I duly 'nipped' them up ... changed tack and nipped up the other side ...

Later in the yard - speaking to yards rigger .. I mentioned this .. to which he went to the boat and gave me a full 9 yards about strain !!! I had inadvertently tensioned such that the mast was stressed in the mid section ... his 'experience' was to have just a slight slackening on leeward .. enough that you can 'feel' it .. but not so much that you see it easily. As he said - its too easy to over-tension.
 
Refueler said:
Good debate ...

On the subject of leeward slack ... I have always played cautious on this ... having had my knuckles rapped by a rigger many years ago. On a sail ... I noted the stays slack ... actually enough to see movement by eye ... so I duly 'nipped' them up ... changed tack and nipped up the other side ...

Later in the yard - speaking to yards rigger .. I mentioned this .. to which he went to the boat and gave me a full 9 yards about strain !!! I had inadvertently tensioned such that the mast was stressed in the mid section ... his 'experience' was to have just a slight slackening on leeward .. enough that you can 'feel' it .. but not so much that you see it easily. As he said - its too easy to over-tension.
Click to expand...
I'm more inclined to go with the advice of the engineers who design and build the spars than a technician who commissions them.
 
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