mast head rig - lateral movement more critical...

[Guest]

As a reply to my question about the stays on my 20' boat being slack, I was told that as it was a mast head rig, the tension of the fore stay and back stays was not as critical as the tension of the cap shrouds (ie side to side movement was a no-no).
Can anyone explain this please? Why is it more important to stop lateral movement of the mast?
thanks

 

[Guest]

Re: mast head rig - lateral movement more critical

I can think of no reason why this should be the case. Excessive looseness in either shrouds or stays is far more likely to give problems than excessive tightness. Any movement of wires and fittings increases the likelihood of fatigue at stress raisers, especially at concentrators like the swaged ends and changes of section in fittings. The only reason I can think that shroud tension might be more important is that fretting could occur at the spreader ends if they were slack.

Correct tension is very important in all standing rigging wires, especially in boats left on moorings where the motion goes on all season long.