A few Rigging questions

[odeapt]

I have begun the process to replace my standing rigging on my Westsail 28. I am using 1/4" 316 SS wire with Sta lok fititngs on each end. Yesterday I changed my aft lowers without any problems. Then i went to change my inner forestay. Unfortunately I messed up the measurement somewhere and it is a little bit too long. Basically the turnbuckle is almost completely closed when the stay is tight. How big of a problem is this?

Now I have a few solutions. The forestay is connected to a 3" tang that is attached to the mast, so i could remove this tang and then the turnbuckle would be better adjusted. Is this tang necessary?

the other options are to leave it as is, or cut the wire and re-install the fitting, just need to buy a new cone/former.

Next question: The current backstay has an adjuster on the lower end of the wire. Is this also necessary?

Next: I replaced my whisker stays and tangs on my boomkin, but have no idea how tight they need to be. in the westsail owners manual it just says to make sure they are snug. Any help with this?

[Paul Elliott]

Items I can comment on:
* The forestay tang is probably there to allow side-to-side motion without stressing the stay fittings. Without the tang you are asking for stress fractures. Of course this depends on the specifics of the tang, but that's usually what they're there for.

* The fully-tightened turnbuckle will most likely become a problem as the stay stretches over time.

* The backstay adjuster is there to dial in the proper stay tension and mast rake. The Westsail is a masthead rig so you won't be adjusting a lot of mast-bend for mainsail flattening, but sometimes you might want to adjust the forestay tension (tighter for upwind sailing, looser for downwind), and a backstay adjustment is convenient for this.

[david samuelson]

Hi,

Your inner forestay: if by ‘tang’ you mean ‘toggle’ (to allow articulation), then no, you must keep it, as Paul says. My advice would be to shorten the cable; and you can re-use the cone and former, which are still new, no?
Backstay adjuster: not really necessary on a Westsail. If you care whether you arrive in the anchorage at 4pm or 2 minutes past 4 then you keep it and play with it. If you keep it you do not need to buy a rigging screw, if you get rid of it you need a rigging screw.
Whiskers: Do them up hand tight then put in a one and a half turns with your spanner. If the forward ones are long you can go for two and a half turns.

[roverhi]

Rigged the Big Brother W32. Without running backstays, the staysail will tend to pull the mast out of column if you tighten it too much. You are probably fine with the length of the staysail stay. Would add running backs to triangulate the Staysail. It's no big thing, other than the cost of a new cone and former. Probably could reuse them if they aren't messed up.

The chain plates for the boomkin stays and bowsprit whiskers on the 32 were made out of pretty puny SS with punched holes. They are very prone to crevice corrosion. Take a close look at them and replace if you get nervous. Tighten them up snug and go sailing. Check the bowsprit and boomkin for staying in position under load. If you see them flexing to leeward or upward, tighten up the turnbuckles a bit and go sailing again till you are happy.

[Terra Nova]

Measure it carefully this time and re-cut the wire..

[JPA Cate]

^^^^ Good one, TN.

Odeapt: If you are young, fit, and strong, Westsail "snug" is probably "hand tight", till you sail it and see how everything is. It is very easy for a young, strong, inexperienced person to over-tighten. I stripped some threads with 10 mm nuits before I learned that. On edit, I was thinking about this overnight, and I suspect it will not be quite tight enough. You will not hurt anything if you do it the way roverhi suggested. I would also add that it might be a good idea after you have all of it done, but before you sail it again, to pay a professional rigger to check it for you, and you watch him, and you'll see he adjusts, then pulls on the wire to see if it's tight enough. When he's done it, then you check it, too and train your muscles how it should feel.

There is also a rig tuning book by a famous rigger, Brian Toss, that you might want to read.

The toggle must stay if you don't want the stay to break.

The backstay adjuster is indeed useful once you have learned more about sailing.

You're on the steep part of the learning curve, just keep the questions coming.

Ann