Headstay tension adjustment

[zoidberg]

I'm looking to have a pair of these Plastimo furlers mounted on a pair of forestays and I note that the deck tang, rigging screw and the two stainless straps-with-holes are secured together using one bolt. As per pic....
Another method has the lower end of the stay/turnbuckle bolted to an intermediate hole in the stainless straps setup, while the straps' lowest holes are bolted ( cotter pin? ) to the deck tang.

I'm questioning how the stay(s) tension is adjusted.... and if the relatively thin stainless straps' ends are entirely robust enough for the job.

Any useful experience to share....?

.

 

[veshengro]

Tension the Back Stays?

 

[William_H]

Fore stay length is usually only adjusted to move the mast forward or backward for rake and hence sailing balance. As said back stay will be the adjustment that gives forestay tension.
Now Op mentions a pair of forestays and furlers. Are they meant to be side by side or one well back from the other cutter style? Side by side has many problems but I would think essentially you get both forestays same length. Cutter style the front forestay is set as if it were only forestay. Then intermediate forestay is tension to adjust mast bend and might require a turnscrew or possibly using holed plates if bend can be adjusted by intermediate side stays. ol'will
"Cutter style" as in front forestay and another shorter attached well back on deck each carrying a jib.
PS I have never heard of failure of these common multi holed plates.

 

[oldbloke]

Because of the different angles to the mast it's forestay for rake and shrouds +/- backstay for tension so no need for a bottlescrew etc on forestay

 

[B27]

If you want to adjust the relative tension of two forestays, you may need to buy a more up-market furler with a bottle screw built in.

In practice, because the wires are springy and the rig isn't rigid, adjusting to the nearest hole will probably be OK, or you could use a vernier plate to give fraction-of-a-hole adjustment, or find some toggles of different lengths.

On my boat, the 'meccano' strips on the furler don't actually carry the forestay tension.

 

[ProDave]

A fractional rig like ours it is the aft swept shrouds that are tensioned. Backstay does not do much to hold the mast up,