Mast Tuning

Re: Mast Tuning

feeds@yuku.com (markreilly) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:08:19 GMT

I agree the baggy sail comment. Yes, I'm cranking the halyard after unrolling it. I do have a new headsail coming and am hoping for much better perfomance. I do agree that the sail can cause a lot of the sag because of the extra drag on the sail. I was just wondering if any one else had that much sag and mast bend. Oh, and to throw one more thing in, when I go up the mast (which I climb myself to keep the person on the winch quiet) the mast is awfully 'springy' like a pogo...

Re: Mast Tuning

feeds@yuku.com (yorkrose) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:07:28 GMT

Mark,

You seem to be avoiding the obvious. A baggy headsail simply is going to give a lot more thrust in the wrong direction, namely, sideways. The leading edge airfoil shape is critical to getting lift in the forward direction rather than the sideways direction. There may be little that can be done to improve either the headstay sag or the pointing with that sail. I presume you are already cranking on extreme halyard tension.

Regards,
Gene Fuller
Yorkshire Rose,...

Re: Mast Tuning

feeds@yuku.com (markreilly) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:02:47 GMT

Thanks for the tips. I do know that the cap shrouds don't tighten the headstay much. The problem I have with tightening the backstay is that it only seems to put more bend in the mast. (crush the mast) When I had 0-negative rake, she was scary! She had a BUNCH of Lee helm. Darn dangerous if you ask me. If I could get only 6" of sag at 15kts, she would point at 45 degrees with no problem. But with all that sag, the luff back-winds at 45 degrees. I have to drop off to 50 degrees just...

Re: Mast Tuning

feeds@yuku.com (tomca) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:11:33 GMT

Tuning the 42's rig is a matter of trial and error. I tried to tune the rig using a tension gauge and that ended up just tweaking the rig from one side to the other once the proper backstay tension was applied. It is amazing how the slight offset in the backstay can really mess up the overall rig tension. I am seriously looking at adding a second backstay using Spectra line to have a centered fully adjustable backstay that can be removed easily when cruising. I believe that some sag is...

Re: Mast Tuning

feeds@yuku.com (nickwigen) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:48:24 GMT

12-15" of sag is incredible. With the rail down in 18-20 kts (135% genoa) I see about 6" sag.

Mast bend won't effect the sag in the headstay, it only effects the draft in the main. If you are going to straighten the headstay the only real choice is to tighten the backstay. I run ours with the shrouds adjusted so they leeward side is only slight snug with the rail at the water's edge. Repeated tacks are done to make the adjustments underway so the leeward...

Mast Tuning

feeds@yuku.com (markreilly) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:06:28 GMT

Hey Guys, I've got a question for the racers. (this will get lengthy, sorry!) Headstay sag! I hate it. We have a 2001, 3-cabin pullman, In-mast furling, wing, Charleston Spar. Please, don't anybody tell me to tighten the backstay. Here's what I do know. She won't point at 30 degrees with a wing keel. (fine, but 45 would be nice) You need rake to point, (because of center of force physics) you can't bend a furling mast too much and expect the main to roll up easily, and...