Page 308 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

caused them. Check for this by putting your head If it does, it might be because the uppers are too
right up against the mast and sighting up; you’ll be loose, or because the lowers are too tight. Try the
able to see even the tiniest deflections. lowers first.
Make the forestay about as tight as the interme- Now go and sight up the jibstay. There will
diates, and the jibstay and backstay about as tight always be some sag in it, and your sailmaker should
as the uppers. know how much for a given point of sail and wind
condition. Is there more than there should be? If so,
Bend tighten the backstay.
Most masts these days, even in cruising boats, can be Get the idea? As I said, there are lots of varia-
bent, and the boat will sail better for it. When you tions, but they’re all variations on the same theme:
bend the mast, you flatten the mainsail; straighten Keep the stick straight laterally, and bent as much
the mast, and you make the mainsail fuller. So, you as you want fore-and-aft. With no slack in the wires.
can suit sail shape to every condition. I can hear It’s definitely a good idea to get a good rigger
some of you out there saying you’re not going to to tune the boat with you, to get it right on. But it’s
race, so why bother? Well, for one thing, flattening hard to get in trouble as long as you keep the mast
the main means you will sail more upright in higher straight and avoid overtightening.
winds, so you’ll reef later, less often. Tuning is a When the tune is set, cotter all the turnbuckle
labor saver. studs.
There are other benefits to mast bend—for
details, see the sidebar “Mast Bend, Stayed and
Unstayed” in Chapter 8 and the sailing books in the SURVEY AND MAINTENANCE
bibliography—but there are so many rig types that
I can’t go into much detail about it here. In gen- A good rig has a designed-in safety factor: a degree
eral, induce a moderate (less than one mast depth) of overbuilt toughness that will allow its compo-
bend with the backstay, then take up on the lowers nents to deteriorate to some degree without precip-
to control and define that bend, then proceed with itating a dismasting. A survey is an opportunity to
the intermediates and uppers. maintain that safety factor, to spot and correct flaws
before they’re serious. A survey is also an oppor-
Dynamic Tune tunity to minimize expense and labor by assessing
When things are good at dockside, it’s time to go lubrication, adjustments, improvements, and other
sailing. Wait until there’s enough breeze to heel your maintenance needs.
boat at 15 to 20 degrees, so the rig will really get The work takes two forms: the formal once- or
loaded up. If it’s new wire, go out and just thrash twice-a-year going-over that leaves nothing unscru-
around for a while, to get the initial slack out. Then tinized; and the reflexive, glance-at-things-as-you-
get on a tack to weather, and take a look at your go-about-your-business inspection that is probably
leeward shrouds. They will always be slacker than more valuable. Rust stains, cracked fittings, and wire
the weather ones, because the weather ones always with kinks or broken strands or a slight unlaying
stretch some. That’s as it should be, but they should due to heavy strain are all things that are possible to
never be flopping loose. If they are, take up on them spot if you habitually look for them but easy to miss
until you feel a slight increase in resistance in the if you don’t. Cotter pins, shackle mousings, swages,
(well-lubricated) turnbuckle. Then tack and do and seizings don’t require much effort on your part
likewise on the other side. Tack back and see how to examine. If one of these is not healthy and you
things look. Not bad? Good. Now sight up the mast spot it soon enough, it is easy to fix or replace; if six
again, with your cheek right against the luff of the months’ time elapses between looks, serious trouble
main. Straight? Or does the head fall off to weather? can develop.

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