Rig tension

[scorpion_1925]

Does anyone have a ball park figure for rig tension on a 97 rules boat?

Obviously I know they are very variable but a general starting point would be handy

[kerrgreg]

Madge was measured once this season - it was near the start so not 100% sure if these numbers were right.

I believe we ran up to around 100kg on the shrouds and more on the forestay maybe as much as 150, that was with a spinlock loose gauge - nick might be along in a minute to correct me. But I think that was about right.

[scorpion_1925]

Thank you

[kerrgreg]

I should add that was on a carbon rig, with quite alot of pre-bend induced with diamonds.

[scorpion_1925]

King tubby has a carbon rig, I'm sure it'll give me a good starting point if nothing else

[roland_trim]

Ping the shroud
If it sounds like a note on a bass guitar the you are OK. About a G is good

[JimC]

Ping the shroud
If it sounds like a note on a bass guitar the you are OK. About a G is good

Hugely variable on the length between spreader and anchor though. But very handy for consistent rigging if you have a good memory for pitch. Heave on the jib lashing until the note is right. On Halo I used an A, and got it by humming the bass line from "The Chain" (BBC Formula one music): A is the first note of the riff. But in these times why not just have a guitar tuner app on your phone and even the tone deaf could repeat the setting?

[scorpion_1925]

I would never have thought of using an instrument tuning app on my phone. I even have one on there!!!

[Will_Lee]

The span to twang is the bit above the spreader: It's less variable in length, it doesn't have the chainplate etc giving odd damping/mass effects, and it is within reach (depending on how your boatbreaker is done).

Also tension being exactly right is a relic of the days of single spreader rigs and floppy mast materials (alu), where the main wants to be too full when it is light and too flat when it is windy and all wrong in the middle, and you end up trying to minimise this unholy mess by using the spreaders to power the middle panel of the mast, but this is v dependent on shroud tension, hence preoccupation with rig tension, and adjusting it for the conditions etc etc.

These days everything is largely locked in and broadly controllable, so really all you need in terms of rig tension is 'enough'. It's not as critical as it once was, but consistency makes everything a lot easier anyway.

Good luck!