Rigging Tension

[bamspm]

Can anyone advise me on the relative tension of lower and cap shrouds ( Leisure 17SL) or point me in the direction of any articles on the subject.
If the subject has been covered in recent past on this forum I apologize for raising it again.

 

[tillergirl]

http://www.kempsails.com/da/12071

 

[Salty John]

The basics are covered in an article under Cruising Resources on my website.

 

[bamspm]

Many thanks, very helpful replies. Exactly what I wanted

 

[William_H]

I think the actual tension is nit so imoportant and certainly should be less than that proposed by many "experts"

The stays should be adjusted to give the required result in terms of mast bend.

So on a typical mast head rigged boat the cap shrouds back stay and forestay are set up with a bit on tension and with the mast vertical or with a little rake.

The inner side stays and inner forestay are then set up to have a similar static tension but more importantly to make the mast straight both fore and aft and sideways. The inner forestay may be set up to give just a little mast bend middle forward. This especially if the mainsail is a bit old or you sail in stronger winds. The back stay may be adjustable to accentuate the bend in strong winds.
For a fractional rig you set up the intermediate side stays to give straight mast again.
Check it all when sailing but don't be dismayed if the lee stays are slack. It is the straightness of the mast that is important. olewill

 

[bamspm]

Many thanks William_H