How tight do we tighten the Turnbuckles

[Troy Cooper]

We just bought our first boat, a Nordica 20. We stepped the mast for the first time and we are wondering how tight to make the standing rigging. We don't want to over-tighten and do damage to anything.

Thank-you very much

Cheers
Troy

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Troy.
There may be some advice here ➥ Nordica-20

[Neptune's Gear]

Mono, right? Tighter than you think. Here is a rough guide if there are no class specs;

Elementary setup general rule is 3 deg rake, 15 % on the caps, fore and aft lowers tight enough to induce prebend not exceeding 1.5 x mast dia fore and aft and to eliminate fore and aft pumping going to weather. Mast must be in column, and no S bend induced by the partners.

Thats for a rig with straight spreaders. Swept spreaders are similar.

For 1x19 ss wire, over a 2m sample, every 1mm of elongation is 5% of break load. So 3mm for 15%, 4mm for 20%

Forestay length sets mast rake, Backstay tension gives forestay tension.

A great reference is Ivan Dedekam's "Sail and Rig Tuning" book.

[Spot]

Hi Troy,

I had the same question for the user's group for my 21' boat, no direct answers.

I have been referencing the $tingy Sailor website for items related to 20-something foot trailer sailors like mine. He explains the Dedekam method and suggests the gauge and a visit to the North Sail's page on rig tuning.

Since this is my first stayed boat and I am not around others who know better, I bought the Loos Professional PT-1 gauge, hoping to try it out this weekend as I just finished my mast crutch, also courtesy of $tingy Sailor (sign up for blog to get the plans).

For more specific answers from others, you would need to provide some information:

-What is the diameter of the stays and shrouds? Type of metal (304, 316, etc)?
-Do you have a back stay? Do you have roller furling on the fore stay?
-Can you buy or borrow a tension gauge?

https://stingysailor.com/2016/06/25/...tension-gauge/


Fair winds-

[psk125]

Most of the time you want the stays and shrouds to be snug so that the mast is straight. Gauges are nice if you’re planning to start an Olympic campaign, but this is not an Olympic class. Snug things up and go sailing. Look up the mast under way to see if it’s straight on both tacks. If not, adjust accordingly. It’s easier to turn the leeward turnbuckles, so tack to adjust each side. You are not launching a SpaceX rocket. Go sailing.

[GordMay]

Selden Mast offers this (generic) Rigging Guide
➥ http://www.seldenmast.com/files/1456.../595-540-E.pdf

North Sails offer a number of “class” Tuning Guides
➥ https://www.northsails.com/sailing/types/tuning-guides

Create Your Own Tuning Guide from Scratch
➥ https://www.quantumsails.com/en/reso...e-from-scratch

[Seighlor]

A little lube on the threads is suggested to avoid galling.

[StoneCrab]

I've been on boats where the shrouds are bar-tight. My boat's specs are pretty specific that the leward shrouds will be loose when heeled. It is a cruising - not racing boat, so basically, my shrouds are only as tight as then need to be to keep the mast straight on any tack. We don't have any rake, bend or whatever. Just sight up the track and snug up accordingly.

[Neptune's Gear]

No rake or prebend is almost certainly slow.

No need to by an expensive gauge, you can use the measurement system;

Measure 2m up a shroud when its hand tight on good, lubricated threads. Start at the lower swage. Put a bit of tape around the shroud at 2m. Tighten both sides a turn at a time until the tape is 2003mm above the swage. Easy. Now you are at 15% of B/L. This is for ANY dia of 1x19 ss 316.

Rigging should use the preload - the leeward shroud should be just losing tension when the boat is fully powered, and you are about to reef. Yes, some racing boats have slacker rigging for various reasons, but this is at some loss of integrity. Some hulls are too soft and cannot hold the rig loads indefinitely.

IMO its not sensible for a cruiser to have slack leeward shrouds when normally sailing. The rig is too slack, resulting in excess wear, and excess loading on the rig. If you don't understand why slack rigging causes higher loading, consult a rigger or engineer. Or read this https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-S.../dp/1898660670
Disclaimer - I have no commercial interest in this book, It's just good.

[Suricat46]

Once you tightened your turnbuckles, don't forget to properly lockwire them all ! (stainless steel lockwire will do the job ... and avoid any bad surprise from a loose locknut !)

[IslandHopper]

Check this Vid at 00:57, would this be normal for (this) cat?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34qg...ature=youtu.be

[NYSail]

It is a very easy thing to do...... however being your first boat why not hire a rigger to show you. Then you will visually understand and be able to do with ease.

Good luck and congratulations!

Greg

[Troy Cooper]

OMG... so much great advice. So many things to read, watch and learn. I sure appreciate everyone taking the time to teach me something new.... WOW! AWESOME!


Thank you all so very much. I'm going to get started on this right now.


Cheers
Troy

[conchaway]

I use the tried-and-true "bitedown" method: snug up the line; then start biting down on your tongue as you tighten the turnbuckle. When you can't stand the pain anymore, the turnbuckle is tight enough.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

Check this Vid at 00:57, would this be normal for (this) cat?

Multis have different rig geometry, so yes the lee shrouds do get more slack than on a mono.