Frank Langer
1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Hi,
I had to pull the mast on our 1984 E30+ to repair the electrical connections for mast lights, and want to get the rig tuned right after re-attaching the shrouds.
I know the general process for tuning the rig, but am having a bit of trouble getting the mast absolutely centred on the boat. The reason is that everything I'm measuring is a bit off--from the centre of the bow back to each cap shroud is not identical; from the mast base to the port/starboard lower shrouds is different, etc.
I have been trying to centre the mast using the halyard pulled taut to the toe rail, adjusting the cap shrouds til the halyard length appears the same. But this is a challenge and of questional accuracy, as to pull it taut over the length from masthead to the toerail, I need to exert some pressure on it to get it into a straight line, and then I'm estimating whether the amount of pressure I'm exerting on each side is the same, at the same point on the toe rail.
I spent quite a while yesterday trying to get it as identical as possible, then tightening the intermediate and lower shrouds to keep the mast in column with no "S" bends along the length of the mast. It all looks reasonably straight, but eyeballing it over the height of the mast doesn't seem to me to be too accurate. I know I need to do the final tuning under sail to ensure the lee shrouds don't go slack and the mast doesn't bend to leeward, but I want to get it as close as possible on the dock first.
Two ideas that won't work: 1) Counting the threads on each of the turnbuckles to ensure they are are same on each side won't work because the shroud attachments to the deck are not in precisely the same spot on each side, which means the shroud length needs to be slightly different; 2) Using a loos gauge won't work for the same reason, I think. With the shrouds slightly different length due to the different placement, the tension needs to be slightly different to accommodate for the different length. As I don't know how much different, this is also a crapshoot for me. And I don't have a loos gauge.
Does anyone have any better method to suggest?
Thanks,
Frank
I had to pull the mast on our 1984 E30+ to repair the electrical connections for mast lights, and want to get the rig tuned right after re-attaching the shrouds.
I know the general process for tuning the rig, but am having a bit of trouble getting the mast absolutely centred on the boat. The reason is that everything I'm measuring is a bit off--from the centre of the bow back to each cap shroud is not identical; from the mast base to the port/starboard lower shrouds is different, etc.
I have been trying to centre the mast using the halyard pulled taut to the toe rail, adjusting the cap shrouds til the halyard length appears the same. But this is a challenge and of questional accuracy, as to pull it taut over the length from masthead to the toerail, I need to exert some pressure on it to get it into a straight line, and then I'm estimating whether the amount of pressure I'm exerting on each side is the same, at the same point on the toe rail.
I spent quite a while yesterday trying to get it as identical as possible, then tightening the intermediate and lower shrouds to keep the mast in column with no "S" bends along the length of the mast. It all looks reasonably straight, but eyeballing it over the height of the mast doesn't seem to me to be too accurate. I know I need to do the final tuning under sail to ensure the lee shrouds don't go slack and the mast doesn't bend to leeward, but I want to get it as close as possible on the dock first.
Two ideas that won't work: 1) Counting the threads on each of the turnbuckles to ensure they are are same on each side won't work because the shroud attachments to the deck are not in precisely the same spot on each side, which means the shroud length needs to be slightly different; 2) Using a loos gauge won't work for the same reason, I think. With the shrouds slightly different length due to the different placement, the tension needs to be slightly different to accommodate for the different length. As I don't know how much different, this is also a crapshoot for me. And I don't have a loos gauge.
Does anyone have any better method to suggest?
Thanks,
Frank