Standing rigging setup on a Hood Stoway mast

[Alaris]

From what I understand, these things have to be kept absolutely dead straight. No bend. Which makes sense with the furler inside.

I have the installation manual for the thing. But the manual doesn’t have specs for setting up the rig. I know how to step and set up a rig for racing but have less of an idea for a mast that cannot have any bend in it. Ideas? Do I just want everything to be pretty tight? Go out sailing and tension things until there’s no play? I have a loos gauge but since I have no reference settings I guess it could just be used side-to-side.

 

[slug zitski]

Pretty much straight

same with in boom furling

rig tune it pretty much just headstay , backstay length ….masthead position fore and aft for balance

 

[Cruisin Loser]

Straight and tight, yes. Simplest thing in the world.

Headstay length is the important parameter. With the mast straight you don't want excessive sag so the jib roller works as designed.

 

[monkphunk]

From what I understand, these things have to be kept absolutely dead straight. No bend. Which makes sense with the furler inside.

I have the installation manual for the thing. But the manual doesn’t have specs for setting up the rig. I know how to step and set up a rig for racing but have less of an idea for a mast that cannot have any bend in it. Ideas? Do I just want everything to be pretty tight? Go out sailing and tension things until there’s no play? I have a loos gauge but since I have no reference settings I guess it could just be used side-to-side.

Curious what others think. I have the same system.

The mast is really thick. It doesn't bend easily in any event. Don't be tempted to try to crank on a lot of backstay to depower the main. However, I do put a tiny amount of pre-bend in it, because I do *not* want to accidentally introduce an inverse bend. That small amount of bend (just barely perceptible sighting up the mast) has never interfered with furling. The forward lowers and staysail stay induce pre-bend; the aft lowers reduce it.

Mostly, shroud tension is the same as any other boat, as far as I can tell. Once you've got everything lined up how you want it at the dock and decently snug, go sailing upwind in a decent breeze, heel it over 15-20 degrees, and just take the slack out of the leeward shrouds. I start with the cap shrouds and work my way down. Count the number of turns you took out of the leeward shroud and do the same on the other tack.

Because I don't want to bend the mast, I mostly leave the backstay adjuster alone when sailing. I haven't figured out a good way to really crank on the forestay tension when beating upwind in a stiff breeze. But to be honest, we rarely do that!

 

[slug zitski]

Yah
tiny bit of pre bend so that you never get an inverted mast

the best masts have forward diamonds …spreaders …to lock-in the shape on the mast and allow backstay tension to stiffen the headstay and running backstay tension to stiffen up the innerforestay

 

[Alaris]

Curious what others think. I have the same system.

The mast is really thick. It doesn't bend easily in any event. Don't be tempted to try to crank on a lot of backstay to depower the main. However, I do put a tiny amount of pre-bend in it, because I do *not* want to accidentally introduce an inverse bend. That small amount of bend (just barely perceptible sighting up the mast) has never interfered with furling. The forward lowers and staysail stay induce pre-bend; the aft lowers reduce it.

Mostly, shroud tension is the same as any other boat, as far as I can tell. Once you've got everything lined up how you want it at the dock and decently snug, go sailing upwind in a decent breeze, heel it over 15-20 degrees, and just take the slack out of the leeward shrouds. I start with the cap shrouds and work my way down. Count the number of turns you took out of the leeward shroud and do the same on the other tack.

Because I don't want to bend the mast, I mostly leave the backstay adjuster alone when sailing. I haven't figured out a good way to really crank on the forestay tension when beating upwind in a stiff breeze. But to be honest, we rarely do that!

It’s barely adjustable, the backstay that is. Not like it has hydraulic adjustment.

The manual is clear that the mast should have no bend in it. Rake is the only adjustment permitted.

From the manual:

 

[monkphunk]

It’s barely adjustable, the backstay that is. Not like it has hydraulic adjustment.

Agreed. Mine has a built-in handle that allows me to grab a nut and tighten/loosen it. And it is numbered, which kind of suggests you might keep track of settings and change them. So it is more readily adjustable than say, an upper shroud, but definitely wouldn't be confused with a control you play while going around a race course.

The manual is clear that the mast should have no bend in it. Rake is the only adjustment permitted.

From the manual:
View attachment 556791

Yeah, I have the same manual. My interpretation is that a mast that is straight and "in column" can still have a tiny amount of prebend without being "bowed". You certainly don't want it bent side-to-side. By all means keep it dead straight if you prefer, but I know which side of perfect I'd want to err on...

 

[slug zitski]

Agreed. Mine has a built-in handle that allows me to grab a nut and tighten/loosen it. And it numbered, which kind of suggests you might keep track of settings and change them. So it is more readily adjustable than say, an upper shroud, but definitely wouldn't be confused with a control you play while going around a race course.

Yeah, I have the same manual. My interpretation is that a mast that is straight and "in column" can still have a tiny amount of prebend without being "bowed". You certainly don't want it bent side-to-side. By all means keep it dead straight if you prefer, but I know which side of perfect I'd want to err on...

straight mast ….with Just enough pre bend so that you can identify it by eye that it is not inverted

 

[longy]

A slight bend is actually more stable than perfectly straight - rigging is really only fighting the spar in one direction. A normal spar tube itself doesn't care which way the bend goes. A furling spar does, because the bend will cause the gap into the interior to open or close. So keep prebend to a minimum and all will be happy

 

[bgytr]

Give Wohlgemuth a shout if you think you need a good eye to look the rig over.
His experience is probably worth a consult.

 

[Bristol-Cruiser]

If the LH mast is like a similar-sized Bristol mast it is very, very hard to bend the mast - it is like a large tree trunk. Use Eyeball 1.0 to see if it looks straight, that will be good enough. I think you may be overthinking this one.

 

[accnick]

If the LH mast is like a similar-sized Bristol mast it is very, very hard to bend the mast - it is like a large tree trunk. Use Eyeball 1.0 to see if it looks straight, that will be good enough. I think you may be overthinking this one.

Eyeball, and tight rigging.

 

[Bristol-Cruiser]

Eyeball, and tight rigging.

When we had a rigger install a new furler I did the rig tightening to save a few bucks. I asked the rigger how tight I should make the shrouds and backstay. He said with the tools I was using (large screwdriver and average wrench) that I could not make it too tight so crank away I did. It really is an easy rig to 'tune'.

 

[slug zitski]

Very dangerous …no blocking in the furling mast slot…possible crush zone

be alert…