Boat heeling a few degrees, should I adjust the shrouds?

[Quebramar]

My boat has a deck-stepped mast with 1 long/upper shroud and 1 fore and 1 aft lower shrouds on each side. With all tanks full, the boat heels a few degs to starboard (which is the side of the fuel tank and of the cockpit locker, though the latter is not filled with heavy stuff). The mast shows same angle to water, implying it is correctly rigged. Standing rig has been professionally replaced 3 years ago by the official brand agent.

I am considering trying to adjust the shrouds such that the boat and the mast get levelled to the water. Is this the right thing to do? If so, should I adjust more the upper shroud than the lower ones? I am concerned of not messing up on the straightness of the mast. I have Dedekam’s didactical book on rig tuning but could not find an answer to my problem.

Any clue would be appreciated.

[Benz]

If the mast were to become perpendicular when the heel was removed, then the solution is to remove the heel by adding ballast to the high side, not by canting the mast. You must address the real problem: that is, the hull being out of trim, not just adjust the mast so it looks like there's no heel.
That's like building a house with a slanted floor and then walking leaned over your whole life.

[OldManMirage]

Yes, you definitely want to address the "real" issue, which is that the boat seems to have more weight on one side than the other.

It could be something as simple as having all the batteries on one side, or something similar. We don't know what boat you have or the layout, so its hard to say. It could be the fuel or water tanks being empty or full, but you would hope that is not it, as those would fluctuate normally anyhow.

If you have an outboard mounted off-center on the transom that could also do it.

You definitely do NOT want to adjust the mast. Having the mast "out of alignment" or off-center could lead to real problems when sailing.

[tkeithlu]

The boat was designed with equal weight to each side. Whatever is causing the heel was added or moved after the fact. Remember that it could be "subtracted," that is, someone took a tank out rather than added one, or eliminated one bank of batteries. Given the way the footpath through the Najad 373 is routed through the cabin, I immediately thought "the heel is going to be to starboard." There are lots of opportunities to add weight around the galley area on the starboard side. I'd look there first.

[Pete7]

Ignore it and go sailing Lots of boats lean.

We can tell when the water tank is nearly empty by the slight lean.

Pete

[wingssail]

I agree with the others; do not try to make the mast perpendicular to the water by canting it to port. Keep the mast perpendicular to the hull and deck and keep the mast symmetrically oriented to the hull and deck. At the very least you would put the sailing rig unsymmetrical to the keel and rudder.

If you strongly object to the heel of the boat the answer is to shift or add some weight to port or reduce weight on the starboard.

I have the exact same problem on my yacht (heels to starboard). This occurred when I added a chain locker and tool locker on the starboard side. Unable to move the chain locker I have to live with the heel. It does make the boat faster going to windward on starboard tack and slower on port tack however I cannot measure that difference.

When at anchor I hang my dingy and motor on the port side which levels the boat.

[MicHughV]

This is an interesting topic.....while boat hunting, I came across a Beneteau 423 that had a pronounced lean to the starboard side, the cause of which, neither I nor the broker or surveyor could adequately explain. Perturbed, I walked from the boat.
Sometime later, I came across a similar boat, which had no such lean, even though, identically equipped. I bought that boat.
Some weeks later, I was digging around the back of the nav station, on the port side, and I came across several large chunks of lead that had been fiberglassed to the hull.

Both boats had a generator in the aft starboard locker, but boat # 1 had the generator installed as an " aftermarket" item. The boat I bought had the generator factory installed during the build, during which time, the lead was also cast into the hull.
Thus the " lean" issue was resolved.
While this may sound contrary, I would pursue a similar line of action, ie, the placement of something heavy on the opposite side of the "Lean".

As a side note, on the first boat, it took two people standing on the port rail at the widest part of the boat, to bring the boat plumb. Figure about 450 lbs of weight.
My guess, the lead weight glassed into the hull of my boat was somewhere around this mark.

[Quebramar]

Thanks for your thoughts. Some comments:
- water tanks are equally spread in both sides
- yes the galley is in the port side, but either side I cannot see what I would have added that could cause this, except maybe a few tools sighing some 10lb and replaced batteries located on centre/SB of the centreline and weighing 20lb more than previous ones
My thought was indeed not to pretend by adjusting the mast but rather that the mast adds to the heel of not being the only cause of it, as I am not certain it is square to the hull. I would not amend if I knew it is perfectly so. I’ll check this bar my next visit to the boat.

[JimsCAL]

What you should check first is if the mast is centered port and stbd. You can use a halyard and pull it tight to the same location on each side to verify this. if this check shows the mast is not centered, adjust the shrouds to get it centered.

[Pete7]

The lean could be down to an internal moulding like the heads compartment.

What have you got that is portable enough to be moved across. Liferaft or outboard for example. We keep our on the starboard quarter which offsets the liferaft in the cockpit locker.

The Najad is a lovely boat btw, so any chance of fitting an extra water tank or fuel perhaps. Seems a shame to carry an extra 100 kgs of lead around with no real usefulness.

[Quebramar]

Thanks indeed. I’ll measure with caution, and start from there.
Pete, great point, I had tried and put the outboard on its port pushpit during our summer cruise with not much impact (Suzu 2.5hp… it’s the smallest/lightest I had found on the market)… I might put it this way to my better half that I need a 8hp to have the saloon table level… [emoji5]

[mvmojo]

You can determine how much ballast you need to add to the port side by getting a couple of plastic garbage cans, putting them on the deck outboard on the port side and then filling with water. Keep track of how many gallons of water you use to level the boat then multiply by 8. You may find that a few hundred pounds of lead under a settee or in the bottom of a locker will solve your problem.

[SV__Grace]

Originally Posted by Quebramar

Thanks for your thoughts. Some comments:
- water tanks are equally spread in both sides
- yes the galley is in the port side, but either side I cannot see what I would have added that could cause this, except maybe a few tools sighing some 10lb and replaced batteries located on centre/SB of the centreline and weighing 20lb more than previous ones
My thought was indeed not to pretend by adjusting the mast but rather that the mast adds to the heel of not being the only cause of it, as I am not certain it is square to the hull. I would not amend if I knew it is perfectly so. I’ll check this bar my next visit to the boat.

"Heeling" refers to the boat leaning to one side while sailing.
The common term for a boat sitting lopsided in the water when not sailing is "listing."
The reason for listing is uneven weight distribution.
Once you redistribute weight so the boat sits without listing you can determine if your mast needs adjustment, but not before.

[Quebramar]

Originally Posted by SV__Grace

"Heeling" refers to the boat leaning to one side while sailing.
The common term for a boat sitting lopsided in the water when not sailing is "listing."
The reason for listing is uneven weight distribution.
Once you redistribute weight so the boat sits without listing you can determine if your mast needs adjustment, but not before.

Thanks, my knowledge of nautical English is improving by the day [emoji4]
Fully agree with your statement, my assumption was that the mast, if not exactly straight, could be the cause.

[Martkimwat]

I have a Parker 27 that had that problem and it seems to have been a design problem because all Parker 27s and earlier Super Seal 26s which are basically the same boat with a lighter keel and slightly modified coachroof, have a 1º list to port. I wanted to put in a refrigerated coolbox and oven both on the Portside which would have exacerbated the problem, so I moved the battery bank which was on the Portside over to the starboard quarter berth locker and the boat now sits level. probably one of the few Parker 27s that do!