Adjusting shroud tension

Ha welcome to 1955.

Adjusting those stupid thingummies in a Vision? If there is grass growing nearby you could watch, or paint drying far better use for your time.

Wait til you drop the little circlip into the gravel of the boat park, that's just extra special fun, just one of the delights of this archaic sport, you'd think by now they'd have invented something simple that works... they haven't.

You could try something called fast pins, you'll think oh that looks a bit better, then you'll find they won't fit, because those thingummies that all look the same? They're not, there are micrometer size differences, depending on wether Ron & Stan made them or Har & Ken.

Thingummies are the very pits of hell, best advice? If they're together, leave them that way and don't mess with them, one bad tack would negate any gain you might have made by fiddling with them, not to mention the vexation to the spirit and charisma draining action of trying to line up the loop with the pin and hole, if you do try and manage without torching the entire boat, you'll be a better man than I..

Jim is right. You choose which hole to use in the shroud 'metal thingummies' when the boat is on land with the sails down and everything loose.

Then you hoist the jib, and tighten the jib halyard more and more until you can grab the shroud and feel it tight. Sometimes you can twang it like a harp string to hear a (low) note.

Did you speak to RS, their after sales is pretty awesome?

The rig tension, rake and prebend (spreaders) all
interact.
1 set the spreaders for the wind strength and
your weight.
2 put the shrouds in the hole that looks about right.
With the jib hoisted apply the rig tension (you adjust it
with the pull down arrangement that
attaches to the jib halyard).
3. Now check the mast is straight (side to side) by
sighting up it and measure the rake.
4. Take the rig tension off and move the shrouds then
repeat until at the required rig tension you have the
right rake.
5 Now check your prebend (spreader deflection). Keep
repeating until all your measurements are right. This is
your base position.

Then if its going to be very, very light or strong winds
go down one - two holes class guide should give an
indication.

If you're having trouble getting to a lower hole try
getting your crew to pull down on the cleated main
halyard to bend the tip of the mast towards you while you
fit the pin.

Raking the mast opens the slot (generally it also makes
the boat slightly faster upwind and slower downwind).

When you start to get overpowered you need to depower the
rig you do this by increasing the gnav, outhaul and
downhaul. If still oevrpowered you then start raking the
mast and shortening the spreaders. In the gusts ease the
main and if necessary the jib. Remember a flat boat is
faster than a heeled boat and the vision is a pig to
steer if you don't sail it flat.

PM your address if you want me to send you a CD with a
video / description of how to do it.

Garry

Edited by Garry

The boat is a RS Vision, just bought. When rigging the mast there is plenty of information in the manual on how to set the spreaders, but nothing on how to attach the shrouds. Looking on the RS owners forum, there is some guidance on the tension in the shrouds for different wind strengths, but how do you do this? By hand, ashore you can just about get the shrouds in to the top holes in the shroud thingumies connected to the deck.