stay tension

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stay tension

Postby skip miller » Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:50 pm

what is a good base setting for your A rig
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Postby Rick West » Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:23 am

Most have never set it like we do the Back Stay. I tested mine in curosity one time when I thought it was right...5 pounds. Then softer in little air and higher in heavier air. I don't think it made any difference.

The rig design today and shroud tension has nothing to do with tuning unless there is an effect on the air hitting the pressure points of the sail. Mast bend and hence flatness of the mainsail can be handled by the connections to the chainplates. Then it is increased to prevent knuckling of the jib luff when needed.

Some has said in the past that the next move forward for the EC12 may be in rig design. I think that is coming. Meanwhile, follow your gut.

...94 [8D]
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Postby Capt. Flak » Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:50 am

Skip, I set my lower shrouds so that the mast is straight (obviously) and so that there is no sag in the leeward shroud when the boat is heeled. I do this on the kitchen floor. Anywhere where there is no wind and a flat surface is good. I switch the boat form one side to the other and check that the mast is straight on both sides and there is no sag in the unloaded shroud.

Then I move to the upper shrouds and the process is basically the same. I want just enough tension in the uppers so that there is no sag in the unloaded side and the mast is straight.

If the mast falls off a little to leeward the shroud is too loose.

Next I just put a little pressure at the top of the mast with my hand to simulate wind pressure. A small amount of bend should occur, but not much.

Fore and aft stay tension are completely different and that all depends on the wind strength and how much bend I want in the mast for the sails.

Sometimes you need to move the lower shrouds forward or aft to control the bend in the middle of the mast. If you want more bend but not a huge amount of backstay pressure, you can move the lowers forward a hole. The same goes for keeping the mast straight when you need more backstay. Move the lowers aft to pull the middle of mast aft.

The bottom line is it is all in the look and feel and not so much in a measured amount of tension.

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Postby skip miller » Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:45 am

Thanks !<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Rick West</i>

Most have never set it like we do the Back Stay. I tested mine in curosity one time when I thought it was right...5 pounds. Then softer in little air and higher in heavier air. I don't think it made any difference.

The rig design today and shroud tension has nothing to do with tuning unless there is an effect on the air hitting the pressure points of the sail. Mast bend and hence flatness of the mainsail can be handled by the connections to the chainplates. Then it is increased to prevent knuckling of the jib luff when needed.

Some has said in the past that the next move forward for the EC12 may be in rig design. I think that is coming. Meanwhile, follow your gut.

...94 [8D]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
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