450: Rigging tension cap shrouds and lowers

[ReneJK]

Originally Posted by ReneJK

Just talked to a rigger here in Panama that has a multhull himself , retired now (72 years old) but with 40+ years of experience

When i told him about the tension his face went pale exclaiming ‘that is way too high for a self supporting mast/rig !!’

According to him the cap shrouds and lowers should be between 5 and 10% of breaking strenght , ‘go sailing and the lee should be loose , not slack’ and ‘with that much pressure you are going to bend the boat , its not a mono that needs its mast cranked down to the keel, these are self supported rigs where the shrouds hold up the mast , nothing more , amd certainly not pulls it down onto the deck , put enormous pressure on the mast step or pull the hulls toward the mast’

I guess that 3800kgs (not Lbs !) and 2600kgs (not Lbs!) is too high

Ps rigger actually said ‘soft’ not loose/slack

[ReneJK]

Fyi

From Z diffusion