Rigging a foresail

[EASLOOP]

Hi out there,
On my East Anglian sloop (3/4 masthead - I think that is the right description) I have what looks like two forestays. A heavy gauge stay and a lighter one. They are both fastened to each other via a kidney shaped bracket that is fastened to the bow roller bracket so that it can rock to and fro. It seems that with the foresail hanked on to the lighter stay when the sail fills up it will pull on this rocker and cause the main stay to tighten up. Is this correct or am I totally at sea? so to speak.
I would appreciate any ideas/knowledge etc.
have fun
John

 

[ashanta]

John,

I'm not familiar with older fractional rigged boats but I did have a modern fractional rig on a hunter a few years ago. The forestay should be tight and on an aluminium mast you should be able to tension it further by the back stay adjuster. It certainly shouldn't be slack (as you appear to describe it) as you will have difficulty in sailing to windward.
I suggest you ask this question on classic boats forum as they may have knowledge of your rig?

Regards.

Peter.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Sounds more like a twin forestay set up to me, the bracket only serves to keep them apart, I would have thought they would both be the same size though, as for one tightening other, I don't see how.

Avagoodweekend.

 

[silverseal]

In days of yore, the forestay held up the mast, and the foresail had a plough wire, which when rigged also held up the mast .. if a forestay parted, the foresail still held up the mast.
On modern boats the forestay also seems to have roller reefing, which means that often as not, the foresail halyard is in the reefing mechanism, so there is no safety system, if the forestay goes, the lot goes over the side.
Sounds to me that your arrangement is a sort of tensioner system, so that the jib tension balances the forestay.. be interesting to see what the classic yacht boys have to say.. at least you have a margin of safety