15. GETTING READY TO SAIL / SAIL MODE
37
halyard by tensioning it to the mast’s base plate.
If the mast appears to bow to one side, ease the
lower shroud on that side and tension the shroud
on the opposite side until the mast appears
straight.
10. Once the mast is straight when viewed from the
back or front, sight up the mast from the side to
see if there is any fore and aft bend. The mast
should be bowed forward at the spreaders by
approximately 4”. Ease or tension the lower
shrouds uniformly until this slight amount of bend
is achieved. When finished, the lower shroud
should be slightly less tight than the main
shrouds. If you sail in a predominately heavy air
region, slightly more mast bend, in the 5” to 6”
range, may be desirable in order to flatten and
depower the main sail.
11. After tuning the rig, install cotter pins in all
turnbuckles to prevent them from moving while
sailing.
12. Install the battens in the mainsail. Attach head of
mainsail to main halyard. Attach tack of mainsail
to cunningham hook. Attach clew of mainsail on
outhaul line.
13. Install the reefing line (the longer of the two) in the
boom with the messenger line provided and lead
from the sheave through the upper cringle at the
back of the sail down to the sliding eye on the
bottom of the boom. Pull enough slack into the
reef line so that the sail can be fully raised
unimpeded by the reef line. Tie the mainsail onto
the boom with the sail ties.
14. Attach the jib sheet onto the jib and lead the
sheets inside the shrouds to the lead blocks on
the deck house top, then aft to the cam cleat on
the house top. Tie figure eight knots in the end of
the sheets to prevent them from running back
through the jams. Shackle the bottom of the jib to
the padeye aft of stemhead and hank the jib onto
the forestay. Bunch and tie to prevent it blowing
overboard before it is ready to hoist.
15. Attach jib and main halyards to their respective
sails.
16. Lower the rudder blade to the full down position..
The rudder must be down to achieve the correct
balance for the proper helm loading. A rudder,
which is not lowered, will load up excessively in
severe conditions preventing the helmsman from
responding to puffs and thus allowing the boat to
“round up”. The cleat is provided to retain the
blade in the correct position.
17. If sailing off an anchorage. Make sure the anchor
is retrieved and stowed properly.
18. Raise sails, beginning with the main and then the
jib while motoring into the wind. Once each
halyard, beginning with the main, is tensioned, the
halyard can be tied down into its respective cleat
and the excess line coiled. When the sails are
raised, the boat can be turned away from the
wind. Once sailing the engine can be turned off
and tilted upward to clear the water.
19. When the main is sheeted in confirm that the
topping lift is not lifting the boom. The main should
be capable of sheeting in hard without the topping
lift being tight. With the main sheeted in hard, the
topping lift should have eight to ten inches of sag
and should be adjusted accordingly. When at
dock or at mooring, the topping lift can be
readjusted to raise the boom to a comfortable
height above the cockpit.
20. Final tuning of the rig will take place when sailing
by sighting up the mast while going upwind in
about ten to twelve knots of breeze. The mast
should maintain its 4” (10.2cm) fore and aft bend,
but should also still appear straight transversely
with the leeward main shroud still retaining its
tension and not going slack. If the leeward rigging
does go slack when sailing, apply more tension
uniformly to both shrouds by first tightening the
leeward rigging and then tension the new leeward
rigging the same amount. Continue this
procedure, as necessary until the leeward upper
shrouds no longer appear slack and forestay sag
has been reduced. Removal and reinstallation of
the turnbuckle cotter pins will be necessary to
make these fine tuning adjustments.
21. Once the upper shrouds are tensioned, again
sight up the spar to make sure that the middle of
the spar at the spreaders is not falling to leeward
or bending to weather. Adjust and uniformly
retention the lower shrouds as necessary.
NOTE: Standing rigging will stretch slightly when
initially loaded. Therefore, the rigging may have to
be further tensioned slightly after a few sails in a
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