ManlyWindrush Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Okay, so I've looked around a bit and found some posts that contain some information, but can anybody clear this up for me once and for all? My Windy has two forestays and the Jib, which connects at the bow of either hull in the same place as the forestays. Last time I had her rigged up, I noticed that after I tightened the halyard for the Jib, the forestays went slack. I didn't think anything of it at the time but after sailing that day (decent winds and swell), she sustained damage to the starboard hull. I remember the mast banging side-to-side as we went over the waves but again, I thought this was just because of the conditions. The consensus so far from what I've read seems to be that the two forestays are superfluous, and that only the Jib is necessary. This would be fine, except that I use the forestays when I'm raising the mast to keep in place while I attached the sidestays (apologies if any of my terminology is incorrect - I'm still a beginner). So, if I do just use the Jib, how do I keep the mast in place while attaching the sidestays? Do people really just sail with the Jib and no forestays? Also, my Windy is a 1976 original, which would explain the damage to the hulls where the beams connect (no bulkheads), and I'm not sure if it's rigged up the way it's supposed to be. Should the trapeze wire be connected higher or lower on the mast? Should the stays be all connected at the same level or should the forestays be higher and the sidestays be lower? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hills Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 I asked the same question. I was told the twin forestays are for cat rigs (single sail) and if you convert to sloop rig (2 sails) you remove the twin forestays and use a single forestay and bridle. I only use a single forestay and bridle without any issues so far. All my stays and traps are at the same height on the mast. Sorry I should add mine is a calypso not a windy though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 You are meant to tension the 2 forestays, by rope back to a couple of cleats which should be on the outside of the front beam. Have a look at the original Windrush 14 Owner's Manual, which can be accessed via the WA Associations website - at www.windrushassociation.com and look under 'Tips & Info'. There should not be the amount of slop in the rigging you describe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManlyWindrush Posted December 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Thanks for your reply, hills. How do you manage to raise the mast safely with only the Jib. Do you do that by yourself or with help? You are meant to tension the 2 forestays, by rope back to a couple of cleats which should be on the outside of the front beam. Have a look at the original Windrush 14 Owner's Manual, which can be accessed via the WA Associations website - at www.windrushassociation.com and look under 'Tips & Info'. There should not be the amount of slop in the rigging you describe. Hi Jim, I have a feeling I may be missing some lines. In the manual, after tensioning the Jib, it states: Next, set up the tweaker lines, (orange lines) by tying a small bowline around the forward shroud and then just leading it back through the small jam cleat on the starboard cross beam. Repeat for the port side I was wondering what those jam cleats were for. There didn't seem to be any lines for them, and I don't seem to have any tweaker lines. Could this be my problem? I don't really understand where they would go or how they would work, either. Can I just use some 3 or 4 mm Spectra or something? How would I rig that up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Have a look at the diagram at the front of the manual - item 9 is the 'forestay tensioner' - it's just a small line from each forestay back to those jam cleats. Then just tension them up evenly, until you take the slack out of the rig. Cheers, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darcy1945 Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Is your rigging all original ie, do all stays have clips attaching them to the hulls, dacron sails (usually multi coloured) and the jib has a forestay wire in it. Race rig has adjustable chain plates for tensioning and raking the rig, and a separate forestay with zipper luff jib. The tweaker lines mentioned are rarely used, and only on cat rig boats on downwind legs and 6mm pre stretch will do the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hills Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Thanks for your reply, hills. How do you manage to raise the mast safely with only the Jib. Do you do that by yourself or with help? For some reason when I try to post my reply its saying a mod has to approve it?? I raise the mast single handed, take a look at my thread "single handed mast stepper under "shed talk". That'll show you how I do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManlyWindrush Posted December 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2012 JimB: Thanks for pointing that out! I'd never noticed those line before :S darcy1945: I have no idea if it's original or not; it's had at least a couple of owners. The forestays have clips but for some reason, the sidestays have long d-shackles and no clips. I thought it was odd that the sidestays were harder to attach (i.e., while somebody's trying to hold the mast in place) when the forestays just simply clipped on, and I was thinking of buying some clips for it. After perusing the manual, it sounds like all the stays should have clips, which co-incides with your question. Yeah, here's a pic: [ATTACH=CONFIG]1086[/ATTACH] Do I just attach the tweaker lines to the forestays with bowlines? hills: Thanks. That set-up you have looks great, but I don't think I could work that out on my own, unfortunately :S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.