Shroud tension

[viva]

Wooden mast - gaff rigged. Can anyone give me a rule of thumb on how much tension to have in the shrouds. The boat has come back from having her mast raised and 1 shroud is "slack" I can't get the boat back to the yard and and there are no riggers round here . Thanks

 

[martinaskey]

Although I have a wooden boat she's bermudian rigged with an alloy mast.
However, I would have thought the same basic rules apply.
I centre and tension everything then go for a gentle sail.
Point upwind and as she heels the lee shrouds unload and the windward shrouds tighten.
I adjust the lee shrouds so they don't unload completely and avoid shockloads / spreaders moving / detaching.
Repeat process with a bit more wind to make sure !!!
I also have fore+aft lowers and set these after the cap shrouds to manage mast bend.

I've also noted values from a very basic tension meter to speed up the initial set up.

No doubt there are more technical approaches but it works for me. hope it helps

M

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Although I have a wooden boat she's bermudian rigged with an alloy mast.
However, I would have thought the same basic rules apply.
I centre and tension everything then go for a gentle sail.
Point upwind and as she heels the lee shrouds unload and the windward shrouds tighten.
I adjust the lee shrouds so they don't unload completely and avoid shockloads / spreaders moving / detaching.
Repeat process with a bit more wind to make sure !!!
I also have fore+aft lowers and set these after the cap shrouds to manage mast bend.

I've also noted values from a very basic tension meter to speed up the initial set up.

No doubt there are more technical approaches but it works for me. hope it helps

M

...repeat for both tacks, making sure that the mast remains upright and 'in column'.