Humming mast

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tel1

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Its been bothering me for a while now, i keep meaning to get a rigger in to give it a once over, (not been done in my 9 months of ownership however i have tweekd the rig when needed). When the sails are down and the wind picks up, if i have the mainsheet taught its starts to hum, the mast or the boom, not sure which. Its sounds like a wind generator turning when your below deck. as soon as i ease the mainsheet the humming gets less or stops. Its a cutter rig on a 38 footer with lazyjack system. Any ideas????? Should i be really worried?
 
tel1 said:
Its been bothering me for a while now, i keep meaning to get a rigger in to give it a once over, (not been done in my 9 months of ownership however i have tweekd the rig when needed). When the sails are down and the wind picks up, if i have the mainsheet taught its starts to hum, the mast or the boom, not sure which. Its sounds like a wind generator turning when your below deck. as soon as i ease the mainsheet the humming gets less or stops. Its a cutter rig on a 38 footer with lazyjack system. Any ideas????? Should i be really worried?
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Its most likely your topping lift. Put a clothes peg on it....
 
It is quite obvious that your whole boat is defective I will happily take it from you and ensure I dispose of it responsibly...... or it could be the (as stated) topping lift hitting a resonate frequency. A bungy tied to it will help in the same as as a peg ... then again it is probably defective so hand it over!
 
smeaks said:
It is quite obvious that your whole boat is defective I will happily take it from you and ensure I dispose of it responsibly...... or it could be the (as stated) topping lift hitting a resonate frequency. A bungy tied to it will help in the same as as a peg ... then again it is probably defective so hand it over!
Click to expand...

Not a problem when i give you the keys you can hand over a money bag with £120,000 then we are both happy!!!
 
We have an inmast reefing system which is very noisy when the wind is from the quarter, quite embarrassing in marinas at times. :o

The open slot acts like a organ pipe.
 
I had the same problem. Traced mine to the dyneema backstay - just needed to slacken the backstay tensioner competely

Yachts make good sounding boxes don't they?

Someone ought to make a record of all the wierd noises that occur when the boat's at anchor and you're trying to get some zzzzzz's. Creaks, throbbing, clanking halyards (other boats of course ;-)), slapping waves, gurgles, humming rigging, anchor chain etc.
 
You dont want to listen to anything that these complete novices have suggested, it'll be the alcohol, clearly you haven't had enough, another few drinks and the noise will disappear.
 
My dads Halcyon had the same problem;he called in a rigger and the builders to no avail.One night he says "Ill pay 10 quid(1970) to anyone who can stop the bloody humming.It occured tome it was the topping lift twanging like a violin string ,tensioned by the main sheet .So Every body got out of their bunks to witness the event,and effectively it was the topping lift tensioned by the mainsheet
 
Ok - as everyone else has identified - it is most likely your topping lift resonating .... we found that even slackened off mainsheet made little difference as we don't have a kicker strut so the weight of the boom is on the lift - so, take the main halyard and wrap it around the topping lift 3 times then attach to the back of the boom - bye bye hum ...
 
you'll find roll on is not as effective as stick on the metal bits, go for a girly deodorant though, she'll prefer that.
 
In my old boat it was the backstay humming when tensioned against the mainsheet. The problem was that to stop the humming needed different tension in different weather conditions -so I could turn in with all quiet and a wind change in the night would have it humming again. Simply leaving it loose wasn't an option as then we got a rattle!

On my present boat, humming comes from a spare halliard. Leave it loose and it fraps, tighten it and it sets up a deep resonant viabration. The solution is to take out all the slack but not tighten it hard, and then use bungy clipped between it and a shroud. That dampnes it down fine.

I have noticed that some pepole have a better tolerance to noises and hums than others. Some people I sail with say they don't notice them until I point them out. I'm the opposite - I try to eradicate every last rattle and hum. Clinking bottles, loose locker catches, kettle with uneven bottom wobbling on the stove . . .
 
Low-tech answer

When on board, we just wrap a tea towel around the topping lift - just above the boom

Leaving the boat, we tended to use one of the other solutions - such as wrapping the halliard around the topping lift. Don't like doing this when (eg) at anchor - never know when you might need the mainsail at short notice!

Most things have a natural resonance - so changing just a small thing can be very effective

Phil

http://www.sailskills.co.uk/
 
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