Major Tuning the Rigging

[paulk]

What you say about the mast curving forward above where the forestay attaches to it (which is called the "hounds" ) sounds a bit strange. The mast should be straight, or curve aft, not forward. After setting the forestay to provide the rake you want in the mast (this helps control weather and lee helm by changing the center of effort of the sails), you should be able to tighten the backstay to remove the forward bend or add aft curve to flatten the sail in heavier wind.

[BigRed56]

Ahoy Rookie, Tho ye be given a wealth of good information me thinks ye should follow this simple advise. 1. Your mast should be set as near to vertical and leveled to your boat. Your rigging is only so big so your starting point is defined.2. Tighten all turnbuckles till tension is even on all with the mast in position (1)! Go sail your boat and see how she handles then ask for help again. You see wherre your mast should be raked,bent twisted etc depends on how she sails and steers. You cannot loose your rig unless you plan to sail in a hurricane flying all canvass available. The Pirate of Pine Island.

[calmtoday28]

hmmm - what happen to your links to the videos?

[tenuki]

Originally Posted by RookieHunter

I don''t intend to sail in greater than 15 knots until I get a little experience

Experience says what you intend the weather to do has little effect on what actually happens....

[RichH]

"What you say about the mast curving forward above where the forestay attaches to it (which is called the "hounds" ) sounds a bit strange."
Not so strange to a sailmaker who ASSUMES that such a mast has the normal and proper ~3/4" prebend (~1" for a double spreader rig) .... otherwise if the mast is dead-straight the new sail will have the position/location of maximum draft too far aft and with too much draft --- than what he/she designs in a 'plain vanilla' (cruising) sail. ... and then the sail will have to be set with excess/extreme main halyard tension so that the boat doesnt develop too much 'weather helm' and excess heel at 15 kts. In just about all sail design calculations the 'makers assume 3/4" prebend and 'usually' a mast that is (nearly) straight-up. .... unless the sailmaker actually comes to the boat and qorrectly assesses that the owner has absolutely no idea of how to 'shape' a sail .... then you get a 'forgiving' cut / 'super-easy to sail' sail: rounded entry, straight luff, less than normal luff 'pre-load', etc. .... ie. a sail that optimizes its shape in 10kts. of wind. instead of 15-18kts.

[GGman]

Doyle sails website has some great stuff on rigging and tuning.

[Sailormann]

Go to the Hunter owner's site and read it. Then go to the boat store and buy a LOOS GAUGE. It costs less than a hundred dollars and it is a very, very good investment - particularly if you are new to sailing.

Be aware that your rig is different than the standard rig that a lot of sailors are used to - so be careful about some of the advice that you receive.

I am sure that if you email Hunter they will be able to forward a tuning guide and some do's and don'ts.

It's noit difficult to tune your rig, but if you don't do it properly, and check it regularly, problems can occur that may result in your mast falling down and hurting you.

[blt2ski]

Then about the last 4 posts, are replying to a 4 yr old post.........

Always good to see answers to stuff like this anyway.

marty

[Raggbagger]

Woah woah woah , easy there dragon . Hear ye the Big Red Pirate he has the sage advise ye be lookin fer. Mast straight . Go sail . Comes loose -thighten. Too tight - loosen . KISS . Keep the mast straight perpendicular to the waterline of your boat. Odds are your not going to find out what she really needs till you get the bugger out there and see what she does. I look forward to hearing some stories of adjustments you make in the conditions you come across in your new boat. Just to throw a quick tale your way . Many moons ago ,the rigg on my wee Bahama Islander was set wayyyy to loose on the aft port shrouds turnbuckle , and coming about , in the most awesome breeze ,heeled over on her rails, screamin like a freight train(thinkin this is probably a good time to set a reef) . POP as we tacked to port the bolt just worked her self out of the turnbuckle bounced on the gunwhale and plop into the drink. The good news was I had crew with me that particular trip and actually it turned out to be the woman I married ( nother story ,I digress). That dug deep into the stores and found the replacement bolt needed to fix said shroud. In with the bolt couple o turns o the buckle and..
"Perfect" yet again we cheat death me sez. Seriously tho just go out with your boat get used to what shes doing and or not doing and adjust accordingly . The fact is your going to make mistakes and your going to fix them on-the-run as we all have had to do. Bring as much replacement hardware as you can, tools and crew as needed (Otto counts as crew) till you know what she'll do and the advise about the tensiometer is sound also I fully agree.

Fair Winds and all the best Yarrrrrrr