sailboat mast tuning

The Worldwide Leader in Sailmaking

• Sail Care & Repair
• Sailing Gear
• Find A Loft
• Sail Finder
• Custom Sails
• One Design Sails
• Flying Sails
• New Sail Quote
• 3Di Technology
• Helix Technology
• Sail Design
• AEROTECH Spinnaker Cloth
• NPL RENEW Sustainable Sailcloth
• Sailcloth & Material Guide
• Polo Shirts
• Sweaters & Cardigans
• Sweatshirts & Hoodies
• Accessories
• Shop the look
• Mid & Baselayers
• Deckwear & Footwear
• Luggage & Accessories
• Fall Winter '24
• Les Voiles de Saint Tropez
• North Sails x 37th America's Cup
• Sailor Jackets
• 727 Sailbags X North Sails
• T-shirts & Tops
• Sailor Jacket
• Sustainability
• North Sails Blog
• Sail Like A Girl
• 37th America's Cup
• Icon Sailor Jacket
• NS x Slowear
• Our Locations
• Certified B Corporation
• North SUP Boards
• North Foils
• North Kiteboarding
• North Windsurfing

SAIL FINDER

SAILING GEAR

COLLECTIONS & COLLAB

COLLECTIONS

WE ARE NORTH SAILS

ACTION SPORTS

Popular Search Terms

Organic cotton

Scuba fleece

Drawstring hood

Utility pocket

Stand collar

Sorry, no results for ""

Subscription

Welcome aboard.

We want to make our emails as relevant as possible for you.

Interests saved

Something went wrong, please try again

Welcome to North Sails

Stay up to date with the latest North Sails news.

Receive a 10% discount code for your first apparel order. Excludes sails and SUP’s. See our Terms and Conditions .

Yes, I agree to the terms of use and privacy policy.

HOW TO TUNE YOUR RIG

Without a properly tuned rig, you won’t be able to control your mast’s behavior over the full range of conditions. Fortunately, rig tuning is a straightforward step by step process for both masthead and fractional rigs.

The goals in rig tuning are the following: (1) Eliminate side bend and lean, (2) Set mast rake for proper helm balance, (3) Set pre-bend to match the mainsail design, and (4) Control mast bend and headstay sag.

Here are a few definitions and explanations to get us started.

GET IN TOUCH

REQUEST A QUOTE

BROWSE ALL SAILS

FIND YOUR SAIL

Latest north sails news.

19 September

OFF-SEASON AND WINTER SAIL CARE GUIDE

Offshore sailing guide, how to care for your foul weather gear.

• Refresh page

ACTIVE STORM TRACKER Hurricane and Tropical Storm Information Learn more

Service Locator

• Angler Endorsement
• Boat Towing Coverage
• Mechanical Breakdown
• Insurance Requirements in Mexico
• Agreed Hull Value
• Actual Cash Value
• Liability Only
• Insurance Payment Options
• Claims Information
• Towing Service Agreement
• Membership Plans
• Boat Show Tickets
• BoatUS Boats For Sale
• Membership Payment Options
• Consumer Affairs
• Boat Documentation Requirements
• Installation Instructions
• Shipping & Handling Information
• Contact Boat Lettering
• End User Agreement
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Vessel Documentation
• BoatUS Foundation
• Government Affairs
• Powercruisers
• Buying & Selling Advice
• Maintenance
• Tow Vehicles
• Make & Create
• Makeovers & Refitting
• Accessories
• Electronics
• Skills, Tips, Tools
• Spring Preparation
• Winterization
• Boaters’ Rights
• Environment & Clean Water
• Boat Safety
• Navigational Hazards
• Personal Safety
• Batteries & Onboard Power
• Motors, Engines, Propulsion
• Books & Movies
• Cockpit Confessions
• Communication & Etiquette
• Contests & Sweepstakes
• Colleges & Tech Schools
• Food, Drink, Entertainment
• New To Boating
• Travel & Destinations
• Watersports
• Anchors & Anchoring
• Boat Handling

Tuning A Sailboat Rig

Advertisement

If your sailboat seems slower, follow our how-to on tuning your rig for optimal performance.

Photo: Bigstock

Spring is a time of prepping your boat for the coming season. While powerboaters fine-tune their engines, sailors should consider fine-tuning their rigs. Doing it yourself may seem intimidating, but it shouldn't be. Anyone reasonably handy can do it in a few hours. The reward is easier and faster sailing throughout the coming season.

Let's start with the basics for new sailors. With a few exceptions, a sailboat mast is held up by a series of stainless-steel wires. But those wires also perform several other equally important functions. When a sailboat is at rest and there is no wind blowing, the stress on these wires is very light with almost all the load downward toward the keel. However, when the boat is sailing and heeled over in a fresh breeze, more stress is placed on the wires and they have to work harder to hold the mast upright and stop it from bending.

The wires that prevent the mast from moving from side to side are called shrouds, and the ones that prevent fore and aft movement are called stays. The larger and taller the mast, the greater the load, and the number of shrouds and stays required. On a typical cruiser, say up to about 35 feet, there will generally be one forestay, one backstay, and two shrouds on each side.

To get the best performance from your boat and sails, the rigging needs to be set up correctly — often called "tuning the rig." The rig should be tuned with the boat in the water on a day with little to no wind. You'll also want to be away from wakes and other boats that can rock your boat. To start, the turnbuckles for the stays and shrouds should be hand-tight only. This is sufficient to hold up the rig but places no strain on anything — yet. Lay on your back on the boat's foredeck and sight up the front of the mast. It should be perfectly straight with no bends or kinks. Next, tighten the lower shrouds — these are the ones that do not go all the way to the top of the mast and often attach to the mast at the base of the crosstrees (the two horizontal spars at the upper ends of the topmasts).

You'll need a large screwdriver to rotate the turnbuckle, and a wrench to hold the shroud fitting and prevent it turning as you tighten. Give a couple of complete turns on either side. Have a helper release the main halyard and keep a little tension while you pull down the end that normally attaches to the mainsail until it just touches the top of the toerail adjacent to the chain plate. Have your helper cleat off the halyard, then swing the halyard over the boom and check the measurement on the other side. They should be the same. If not, adjust the turnbuckles until they the measurement is equal on port and starboard.

Adjusting and tuning a sailboat rig will often bring benefits such as easier handling and better performance.

Next do the same for the cap shrouds, these are the ones that go to the top of the mast, but note that due to the length of the shrouds, it is easy to bend the mast to either port or starboard. With the shrouds adjusted, sight up the mast one more time to ensure that it is still straight.

Next comes the fore and aft adjustment, which is made with the backstay and forestay. Masts should be plumb or lie back slightly. It should never rake forward. A good starting point is to tighten up the forestay and backstay a little over hand-tight. Use the main halyard as a plumb bob. Cleat off the halyard so the free end is just clear of the top of the boom and let it hang. If the shackle on the end of the halyard hits the mast, the mast is likely too far forward, so slacken off the forestay and tighten the backstay. Adjust a little at a time until the end of the halyard hangs free — 4 or 5 inches is a good starting point.

You'll need to install cotter pins into the turnbuckles to prevent them loosening over time, but before doing that, take the boat for a sail when the wind is blowing about 10 knots and see how everything works. With the boat on a beam reach, note the tightness of the windward shrouds. If they appear slack, they will need to be adjusted up. If the boat is hard on the tiller or wheel and tries to turn into wind, the mast has too much aft rake, so you'll want to slacken the backstay and tighten up on the forestay a little. If the bow wants to turn away from the wind, the mast is too far forward, so you'll need to move the mast back a little.

If you are at all unsure about tackling this task, play it safe and smart — seek out the services of a qualified rigger who has access to rig tension gauges and other specialized tools.

Related Articles

The truth about ceramic coatings for boats.

Our editor investigates the marketing claims of consumer-grade ceramic coatings.

Fine-Tune Your Side Scan Fishfinder

Take your side-scanning fishfinder off auto mode, and you’ll be spotting your prey from afar in no time

DIY Boat Foam Decking

Closed-cell foam flooring helps make boating more comfortable. Here’s how to install it on your vessel

Click to explore related articles

Contributing Editor, BoatUS Magazine

A marine surveyor and holder of RYA Yachtmaster Ocean certification, BoatUS Magazine contributing editor Mark Corke is one of our DIY gurus, creating easy-to-follow how-to articles and videos. Mark has built five boats himself (both power and sail), has been an experienced editor at several top boating magazines (including former associate editor of BoatUS Magazine), worked for the BBC, written four DIY books, skippered two round-the-world yachts, and holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest there-and-back crossing of the English Channel — in a kayak! He and his wife have a Grand Banks 32.

BoatUS Magazine Is A Benefit Of BoatUS Membership

Membership Benefits Include:

Subscription to the print version of BoatUS Magazine

4% back on purchases from West Marine stores or online at WestMarine.com

Discounts on fuel, transient slips, repairs and more at over 1,200 businesses

Deals on cruises, charters, car rentals, hotel stays and more…

All for only $25/year!

We use cookies to enhance your visit to our website and to improve your experience. By continuing to use our website, you’re agreeing to our cookie policy.

How to tune your rig for optimal performance

Optimizing the performance of your boat's rigging system is crucial for an enjoyable and safe sailing experience. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for tuning your rig and maintaining your sails.

How to Tune Your Rig for Optimal Performance

Sailing is an art that requires constant learning and adaptation. One of the most important aspects of sailing is ensuring that your boat’s rigging and sails are in top condition. In this article, we will discuss how to tune your rig for optimal performance, ensuring that you and your family can enjoy smooth sailing on your adventures.

Table of Contents

Understanding the basics of rigging, the importance of rig tuning, step-by-step guide to rig tuning, sail improvements for better performance, maintaining your rig and sails.

Before we dive into the process of rig tuning, it’s essential to understand the basics of rigging. The rigging system on a sailboat consists of various components, including the mast, boom, shrouds, stays, and sails. These components work together to provide stability, support, and propulsion for your boat.

Mast and Boom

The mast is the vertical pole that supports the sails, while the boom is the horizontal pole attached to the mast’s base. The mast and boom are critical components of your rigging system, as they provide the framework for your sails.

Shrouds and Stays

Shrouds and stays are the wires or ropes that connect the mast to the boat’s hull. They provide lateral and fore-and-aft support for the mast, ensuring that it remains stable and upright. Shrouds are typically attached to the sides of the boat, while stays are connected to the bow and stern.

Sails are the primary means of propulsion for a sailboat. They work by capturing the wind’s energy and converting it into forward motion. There are various types of sails, including mainsails, jibs, and spinnakers, each with its own unique characteristics and uses.

Rig tuning is the process of adjusting your boat’s rigging system to achieve optimal performance. Proper rig tuning can significantly impact your boat’s speed, handling, and overall sailing experience. Some of the benefits of rig tuning include:

• Improved boat speed and pointing ability
• Enhanced sail shape and efficiency
• Reduced wear and tear on rigging components
• Increased safety and stability

By regularly tuning your rig, you can ensure that your boat is always performing at its best, allowing you and your family to enjoy your sailing adventures to the fullest.

Rig tuning can be a complex process, but with the right knowledge and tools, it’s something that any sailor can learn to do. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you tune your rig for optimal performance:

Step 1: Inspect Your Rigging

Before making any adjustments, it’s essential to inspect your rigging for signs of wear, damage, or corrosion. Check all components, including the mast, boom, shrouds, stays, and sails, for any issues that may affect your boat’s performance.

Step 2: Set Your Mast Rake

Mast rake refers to the angle of the mast relative to the boat’s centerline. Adjusting the mast rake can have a significant impact on your boat’s balance and performance. To set your mast rake, follow these steps:

• Attach a weight to your main halyard and let it hang freely over the side of the boat.
• Measure the distance from the halyard to the boat’s centerline at the chainplates.
• Adjust the forestay and backstay until the desired rake is achieved.

Step 3: Adjust Your Shrouds and Stays

Next, you’ll need to adjust your shrouds and stays to ensure proper mast alignment and tension. Follow these steps:

• Loosen all shrouds and stays.
• Tighten the upper shrouds until the mast is straight from side to side.
• Tighten the lower shrouds to remove any side-to-side play in the mast.
• Adjust the forestay and backstay to achieve the desired mast bend.

Step 4: Check Your Rig Tension

Proper rig tension is crucial for maintaining sail shape and boat performance. To check your rig tension, follow these steps:

• Attach a tension gauge to your shrouds and stays.
• Measure the tension in each wire, adjusting as necessary to achieve the desired tension.
• Ensure that the tension is even on both sides of the boat.

Step 5: Fine-Tune Your Rig

Once your rig is properly tensioned and aligned, you can make any final adjustments to optimize performance. This may include adjusting your sail controls, such as the outhaul, cunningham, and vang, to fine-tune sail shape and efficiency.

In addition to rig tuning, there are several sail improvements that you can make to enhance your boat’s performance. Some of these improvements include:

• Upgrading to high-quality sails made from durable, lightweight materials
• Regularly cleaning and inspecting your sails for signs of wear or damage
• Using sail battens to improve sail shape and efficiency
• Installing a roller furling system for easier sail handling and storage

By investing in these sail improvements, you can ensure that your boat is always performing at its best, allowing you to enjoy your sailing adventures to the fullest.

Regular maintenance is essential for keeping your rig and sails in top condition. Some maintenance tasks to consider include:

• Inspecting your rigging for signs of wear, damage, or corrosion
• Lubricating moving parts, such as sheaves and blocks, to reduce friction and wear
• Replacing worn or damaged components, such as shrouds, stays, and sails
• Regularly cleaning your sails to remove dirt, salt, and other contaminants

By staying on top of these maintenance tasks, you can prolong the life of your rig and sails, ensuring that your boat is always ready for your next adventure.

Tuning your rig for optimal performance is an essential skill for any sailor. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can ensure that your boat is always performing at its best, allowing you and your family to enjoy your sailing adventures to the fullest. Remember to regularly inspect and maintain your rig and sails, and don’t be afraid to make improvements and adjustments as needed. With the right knowledge and tools, you can transform your boat into a high-performance sailing machine that’s ready to take on the open sea.

• BOAT OF THE YEAR
• Newsletters
• Sailboat Reviews
• Boating Safety
• Sails and Rigging
• Maintenance
• Sailing Totem
• Sailor & Galley
• Living Aboard
• Destinations
• Gear & Electronics
• Charter Resources
• Ultimate Boating Giveaway

How to Inspect and Tune a Sailboat Rig

• By Ralph Naranjo
• Updated: May 14, 2020

Major mast failures usually begin as minor hardware problems. At least that’s what scrap-bin forensics seems to confirm. So, instead of dreading a dismasting, prevent it with a sensible approach to rig maintenance.

Some sailors inspect their masts and rigging with the spar stepped, but most recognize how much will remain unseen. Riggers recommend that the mast come out every few years and be placed on a pair of sturdy sawhorses ready for close-up scrutiny. My DIY approach focuses on hardware junctions and points where load paths intersect. Packed in my rigger’s bag are the usual hand tools, plus a Scotch pad, a quality magnifying glass and a small digital camera to record the findings. The old rule of thumb is that standing rigging has a decade’s, or one circumnavigation’s, worth of reliability; it’s a benchmark that remains valid today.

Another important issue is the rigging’s designed safety factor, or how much stronger the components are than they need be. The catch here is material deterioration over time, and the fact that there’s a direct correlation between stronger structures and increased reliability. For example, by increasing 1-by-19 shrouds and their attendant hardware from 5/16 inch to 3/8 inch, the higher safe working load translates into a longer life span. It’s a legit assumption, but doing so is both costlier and adds weight aloft, which can rob performance. The same tenets apply for a larger-diameter spar section and greater wall thickness. Engineers and naval architects try to balance these competing factors.

Some decades ago, I watched the deck-stepped spar of my first little cruising sloop drop into the drink. It drove home the fact that it really is the little things that count. In that case, it was a stainless- steel toggle, connected to an upper shroud turnbuckle, which had endured a few too many on-off load cycles. A tiny, nearly invisible crack had opened up, and salt spray had found a new home. The resulting corrosion tipped the scale and led to a dramatic failure. Since then, rig scrutiny has become my obsession.

The old rule of thumb is that standing rigging has a decade’s, or one circumnavigation’s, worth of reliability.

Wire and rod end fittings need a close look, especially in areas where there are brown stains and signs of cracks, pitting or other surface deterioration. This includes an evaluation of clevis-pin holes that should be circular, not elongated. Confer the same level of scrutiny to the clevis pins themselves. Don’t confuse stainless-steel clevis pins with chrome-plated bronze pins. The latter are just fine when used in bronze fittings, but when a bronze clevis pin is placed in a stainless-steel chainplate hole, the bronze pin can be carved away by the much harder stainless-steel chainplate.

My inspection process includes a rigging-wire wipe-down with a rag that easily snags on tiny cracks. It includes careful scrutiny of hardware junctions. I search for signs of chafe, especially where fiber or wire running rigging makes directional changes at sheave boxes, and around where the headsail furler’s top swivel rides. Looking closely at masthead exit points, I check for sheave wobble, excess side play and signs of pulley damage.

This is also the time to sort out halyards that are rubbing against external or internal obstructions. I use a bright, narrow-beam LED flashlight for a good visual inspection of the internal portion of the mast. Not only will it pinpoint screws and sheave boxes that might be causing chafe, but it also will help you untangle crossed halyards and confirm fairleads. While working at the heel end of the spar, look closely for corrosion and a condition riggers call “elephant foot.” It’s an actual wrinkling of the alloy tube section caused by too much compression and a too-thin wall section. It’s most often seen on raceboats with powerful hydraulic mast-adjusting systems, and on cruising boats that have pounded into too many steep wave faces.

Roller furling foils hide the wire or rod on which they spin. Rigging end fittings and terminals can usually be inspected, but a broken strand of wire inside the foil might initially go unnoticed, at least for a little while. This is another reason why offshore cruisers opt for a cutter or solent rig that adds a second stay for some extra ­insurance. Following the once-a-­decade rule, it makes sense to completely disassemble furling systems, and replace the wire along with any worn bearings, bushings or plastic spacers.

My inspection process includes a wire wipe-down with a rag that easily snags on tiny cracks. I search for signs of chafe everywhere.

Keep in mind that when the mast is unstepped, many roller furling drums and head foils (especially on boats with deck-stepped rigs) extend beyond the heel of the spar. If the yard doesn’t splint and immobilize the extended foil and drum, do it yourself. All it entails is a couple of 2-by-4’s, or a pair of old oars lashed or duct-taped to the mast just above the heel. This double splint should extend to the base of the roller-furling drum where it too is lashed or taped. It keeps the drum from dangling and bending the foil during transport, and while the rig is stored on a mast rack.

Spreaders also deserve a really close look. All too often, excess anti-chafe protection results in the spreader tips becoming a water trap that turns into a hidden corrosion bath. So, when the rig is down, cut away the spreader-tip padding, and use white vinegar and a plastic scrub pad to get rid of any white powdery oxidation. Remove the spreaders from the spar, and inspect the area where spreader bases make contact with the mast. Look for compression damage to the mast wall and signs of corrosion damage. If all is well, reassemble using one of the tried-and-proven water-resistant lubricants. I’ve settled on Lanocote, McLube Sailkote and Super Lube, using Boeshield T-9 and WD-40 as my go-to spray protectant and penetrant. Throw away the old cotter pins, and use new pins on all of the reassembled rigging.

“She’ll be right, mate,” was the favorite phrase of an old Kiwi friend, but it isn’t good advice when it comes to keeping the rig where it belongs. Don’t shy away from calling in a qualified rigger to handle larger problems.

Most boatyards will restep spars but won’t tune the rig. Their goal is to set up the mast and rigging to approximate how it arrived. Occasionally, they hit the mark and even replace the mast wedges appropriately. Otherwise, I wait for a flat calm to make sure that the boat has no list. This involves using a tape measure to confirm the athwartship trim (waterline to rail-height port equals waterline to rail-height starboard). Then I check the perpendicular and rake of the mast using the main halyard with a makeshift plumb bob (dive weight) attached. The retune requires loosening the turnbuckles and incrementally retensioning the rigging. Small amounts of headstay and backstay adjustment relocates the masthead, causing the makeshift plumb bob to move significantly. I use prior measurements from previous mast-tuning successes to set the rake to a sweet spot that, in the past, delivered a minimal amount of weather helm.

With the rake set, I insert a set of teak or high-density hard-rubber wedges between the mast and the mast partners. These wedge-shaped spacers have a top flange that prevents them from falling into the bilge when the mast compresses on one side of the partners and opens the gap wider on the other. With all the wedges set, I incrementally add tension to the rig, tightening headstay and backstay first, while carefully maintaining the rake angle. Next, I adjust the upper shroud (or V1), working from side to side to keep the mast perpendicular. Finally, I snug up (but not overtension) the lower and intermediate shrouds. This static tuning sets the stage for an underway final tune, during which I check how well the spar remains in column. Leeward bends and S-curves are problematic and must be minimized. Boats with discontinuous rigging have shrouds that are not one continuous wire run. They utilize turnbuckles located above spreaders that must be individually adjusted to eliminate side bend.

During sea trials, make sure the leeward standing rigging is not overly slack and flopping around like loose spaghetti.

Intentional fore and aft mast bending can influence sail shape, and is put to good use aboard raceboats. Adding such complication to most cruising boats, which are ­normally steered by an autopilot, makes less sense. In-mast furling spars are least happy with powerful hydraulic backstays bowing the mast. So, get sound advice from a rigger/mast builder before adding hydraulic sail-shaping gear.

A sea trial should follow your static mast tune. And as you beat to windward in a modest 10- to 15-knot true breeze, check the leeward standing rigging. Make sure it’s not overly slack and flopping around like loose spaghetti. If so, add more shroud tension to both sides. A tension-testing gauge will work, but many sailors do fine estimating by hand. Cruising-boat rigs shouldn’t have the same amount of rig tension as a raceboat ­beating to windward. However, if your sailboat’s mast is deck-stepped, make sure the coachroof isn’t deforming due to the compression load. A compression post, ring frame or other rigid structure should be spreading such loads. If you’re unsure of the correct rig tune, arrange a session with a rigger or sailmaker—and start the season in optimized trim.

Technical expert Ralph Naranjo has inspected the rig on his Ericson 41, Wind Shadow , on countless occasions.

• More: fitting out , hardware , How To , mast , rigging
• More How To

Surviving the Storm: A Sailor’s Tale of Hurricane Lee

Best Practices for Boat-Show Shopping

Grease the Wheels of Your Boat: A Guide to Proper Lubrication

A Bowsprit Reborn: A DIY Renovation Story

Savoring Superior: A Great Lakes Cruise To Remember

Point Your Compass Due South, Bitter End Yacht Club Reopens October 23rd.

Pre-Owned: 1988 Hylas 47

• Digital Edition
• Customer Service
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Email Newsletters
• Cruising World
• Sailing World
• Salt Water Sportsman
• Sport Fishing
• Wakeboarding

What You Need to Know About Rig Tune & Performance

March 18, 2022 Updated August 8, 2024

For many sailors, the relationship between rig tune and performance often seems like a black hole. Quantum’s Dave Flynn takes us on a tour of the core elements of the rig and what you need to know to demystify tuning for optimum performance.

Mastering rig tuning for optimal sail trim and performance might seem daunting, but fortunately it’s not as complicated as tuning a Stradivarius violin! To keep it in perspective, remember you are just pulling on a hunk of aluminum or carbon with cables. To master the rig, there are four elements you need to understand: rake, athwartship tuning, mast bend, and headstay sag. Each of the four elements of rig tune either adds power or takes it away. If you understand the basic mechanics of each element, you can tune your rig to improve trim and overall setup.

Mast rake is a measure of how far the mast is angled aft from a straight vertical. A typical mast rake ranges from one to one-and-a-half degrees on a cruising masthead rig to as much as four degrees on a fractional racing rig. A mast should never be raked forward unless there is something unusual in the boat design (you’ll know if this is the case!). When you add rake to the mast, you tilt the whole sail plan aft. This, in turn, shifts the power aft, pushing more load on the stern and forcing the bow up into the wind, creating weather helm.

Rake is determined by headstay length: The longer the headstay, the greater the rake. To adjust your rake, adjust the length of the headstay. How much rake a boat needs to generate the right amount of weather helm is a function of hydrodynamics (hull form, keel shape, and placement). In most one-design racing classes, where lots of time is invested in figuring out what works best, tuning guides specify headstay lengths for conditions. In more developed classes, this will change as a function of wind speed. You’ll want more rake in light air when it is hard to generate helm and less as the breeze builds. For boat setup and trim, adding rake is a tool for generating power in light air, and reducing rake is part of the de-powering process in heavy air.

For cruisers and many non-one-design rigs, you likely don’t have a tuning guide to work from, so to optimize upwind performance you need some helm loading in light-to-moderate conditions. Three to five degrees of rudder angle in 8kts-10kts of wind is a commonly cited target. To test if this angle works for you, sail upwind in 8kts-10kts and let the helm go; the boat should turn gently into the wind. If it goes straight or bears off, you need more rake and vice versa if it spins out of control. Don’t try this test when it is windy; your boat will round up and exhibit too much helm due to heel not rake, and you’ll get a false read. 

ATHWARTSHIP TUNING

If the rig is not centered, performance and trim will be different tack to tack. To remedy this, center the top of the rig. Using the diagonal shrouds, bring each successive panel in line with the top. The amount of tension you need is tough to predict at the dock–the mast really needs to be under load. Test tension by sailing upwind in 10kts-12kts of breeze with appropriate trim settings and then check the mast. Is it straight when you put your eye to the aft face and look up the mainsail track? If the tip is falling off, you need more upper tension. If the leeward upper shrouds are flopping around, you need more tension for a given velocity. The shrouds should be firm.

Work on the diagonals next. How much tension you need in the leeward diagonals is determined by how stiff the mast is. In over 10 kts, you definitely want the mast to be straight. For more power in light air, you can let the middle of the mast sag an inch or two to leeward to increase the depth in the mainsail. It is common in one-design classes to ease tension on the diagonals in light air to create this smooth sag.

Dinghies and small keelboats are great boats to experiment with how tuning inputs affect your sail plan. The smaller diameter wire shrouds and relatively small masts dramatically show the impact of tuning adjustments. This isn’t as visible on larger racing or cruising boats with rod rigging. Cruisers will want to set a good base athwartship tune as well. If the rig is uneven side-to-side, you will experience frustrating differences in point and power on each tack. Skip the headache and set a good base tune early in the season. Whatever the condition you are sailing in, once you have established good upwind trim, have a look up the mast to make sure it is in column or sagging slightly to leeward in the middle in light air.

If you have an older cruising boat with a mast stiffness that resembles that of a telephone pole, you can skip this section! But for cruisers with a relatively modern rig, swept-back spreaders, traditional sails with flaking system, or even in-boom or in-mast furling, pay attention here.

While rake is the amount the mast is angled aft, mast bend is the amount you bend the mast aft after you have set your rake. A rig that bends gives you a powerful tool for changing the shape of the mainsail: More mast bend flattens the sail and de-powers it; a straighter mast creates shape and power. Rig tune affects how much a mast bends, particularly on modern fractional rig boats with swept back spreaders. But no matter what type of rig you have, you want to start with a little mast bend, or pre-bend, which refers to the amount of bend that has no backstay tension. Lengthening the headstay increases the bending moment and adds pre-bend. This is why it’s important to set the rake first. Other factors affecting the pre-bend are the position of the mast step and the blocking of the mast in the partner, which is the hole where the mast goes through the deck. To add pre-bend, either move the mast step aft or move the mast forward in the partners. A target of 1”-3” of pre-bend is typical on a medium-sized boat. Pre-bend ensures the mast will move forward in the middle and flatten the mainsail when you pull on the backstay.

On a rig with in-line spreaders (typically masthead rigs), the side shrouds have little impact on the mast bend created by pulling on the backstay. On some rigs, however, there are check stays to keep the mast from bending too far. Sometimes there are even multiple sets.

How far is too far when bending the mast? You’ll know when your mainsail develops diagonal wrinkles from the clew up to the luff and is beginning to turn inside out. For maximum de-powering, bend just to the point where wrinkles appear. If available, use check stays to help.

On modern fractional rigs with spreaders swept well aft, the side shrouds have a big impact on mast bend. The diagonal shrouds are controlling not only athwartship tuning but also acting like check stays to inhibit mast bend, since they are swept back and pulling aft. Too tight, and the diagonal shrouds will keep the mast from bending and flattening the mainsail; too loose, and the mast can over-bend and turn the sail inside out. In many classes, overall rig tension is increased by taking turns on the shrouds, shortening the headstay, or pumping the whole rig up with a mast jack for more backstay tension without allowing the rig to over-bend as it gets windier.

HEADSTAY SAG

If some mast bend is good, why isn’t more better? The answer is headstay sag. When the headstay sags, the headsail becomes full and more powerful, which is great in light conditions. But as the breeze builds, you want to reduce the amount of sag as much as possible to de-power the boat and help with pointing. In breeze, it’s all about headstay tension–you can’t get too much. So why is mast bend a factor? When you pull back on the rig with the backstay, it will tighten the headstay, which is good. But you are also pulling down and compressing the rig, which makes it bend. You want some mast bend in order to flatten the mainsail, but not so much that you soften the whole rig and increase headstay sag. This is why we use check stays to control mast bend on a masthead rig and tighter diagonal tension on a swept aft spreader rig.

Rig tune still matters even when you aren’t routinely adding turns to your shrouds based on the wind and conditions. Many modern cruising sailboats with in-mast furling rigs have comparatively smaller tune adjustments, as the rig needs to stay in column for the mainsail to furl properly. Some boats are outfitted with a cascading backstay adjuster that allows for minor tweaks and lets you easily reset the rig when it’s time to furl the mainsail. To get the most performance from your cruising setup, don’t overlook rig tune. Racing sailboats often have their rigs removed for transport and then re-rigged, whereas many cruising boats may never have had the rig adjusted since the boat was first commissioned. If you can't remember the last time your rig was tuned, now is a great time to give your local loft a call.

Having a properly tuned rig is essential to boat setup and performance. While this can be a DIY process, if you have questions or need additional input, please contact a professional rigger or your local loft where our expert Quantum team can help sort out your rig and tune. For one-design tuning guides and resources, select your OD class on the Quantum website or get in touch with a Quantum Class Expert.

Get in touch with David Flynn with additional questions and dive deeper into rig tune for performance. E: [email protected] P: 410-268-1161 ext. 206

The Discussion

This website uses cookies and collects usage statistics. Privacy Policy

Us, too. We pour that passion into each of our newsletters to help you enjoy sailing even more.

How To Tune Your Sailboat Rig

• August 2, 2023

Table of Contents

Sailing, with its perfect balance of adventure and tranquility, has enchanted mariners for centuries. Whether you’re cruising coastal waters or vying for victory in a thrilling regatta, your sailboat ‘s performance hinges on a seemingly unassuming yet critical aspect: rig tuning. Understanding how to properly adjust the tension in your sailboat’s standing rigging is the key to unlocking the full performance of the boat. In this article, we delve into the art of sailboat rig tuning, exploring the reasons why it is not only important but fundamental to achieving optimal performance, safety, and overall sailing enjoyment.

Why Tuning Your Rig Is Important

Tuning your sailboat rig is essential for several reasons that directly impacts your sailboat’s performance, safety, and overall experience. Here are the main reasons why rig tuning is important:

• Sailing Performance: Properly tuned rigging ensures that the sails are set up optimally for various wind conditions. A well-tuned rig allows the sails to achieve their best shape, providing better lift and speed. It improves the boat’s pointing ability, acceleration, and overall sailing performance.
• Sail Shape and Balance: Rig tuning helps control the shape of the sails, allowing them to perform efficiently. The correct tension in the rigging ensures the right amount of luff tension on the headsail, preventing excessive sag and maintaining proper sail balance. This, in turn, results in better boat balance and easier handling.
• Safety and Durability: An improperly tuned rig can lead to increased stress on the rigging components, mast, and sail. Over-tensioned rigging can cause excessive loads, leading to potential failures or damage. Conversely, under-tensioned rigging can cause the mast to pump or the rig to be unstable in rough conditions. Proper tuning helps prevent rigging issues and increases the overall safety and longevity of the rig.
• Weather Conditions: Different wind conditions require adjustments in rig tension. In light winds, a looser rig allows for a fuller sail shape, while in heavy winds, a tighter rig flattens the sails and depowers the boat. Adjusting the rig to suit the conditions helps maintain control and optimize performance.
• Boat Balance and Helm Feel: Rig tuning affects the boat’s balance and how it responds to the helm. Properly tuned rigging ensures a balanced helm and a boat that tracks well, making it easier to steer and reducing fatigue for the crew.

Regularly checking and adjusting the rig ensures that your sailboat operates at its best, whether you’re cruising or racing. If you’re unsure about rig tuning, consider seeking advice from a professional rigger or an experienced sailor to help you get the most out of your boat.

Sailboat Rig Tuning Process

Tuning a sailboat rig involves adjusting the tension in the standing rigging (shrouds and stays) to achieve the correct balance and shape of the mast and sails. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you tune your sailboat rig:

1. Check the Basics:

• Ensure the boat is level and upright, preferably in the water, with the mast straight.
• Check that all turnbuckles are free and not corroded or stuck.

2. Determine the Baseline:

• Refer to your sailboat manufacturer’s manual, sailmaker ‘s tuning guide, or rigging expert’s recommendations for the initial baseline settings of your rigging tension. This usually includes the recommended tension for the upper and lower shrouds and forestay/backstay.

3. Loosen the Rig:

• Loosen all the rigging turnbuckles to the point where they are free to move. This step allows you to start with a clean slate and avoids putting undue strain on the rigging while adjusting.

4. Center the Mast:

• Use a measuring tape or a specific mast rake measurement tool to ensure the mast is centered and straight on the boat, both athwartships (side-to-side) and fore and aft.

Closed Reel Long Tape Measure – Flexible Fiberglass Double Face Printing Inch/Metric

5. Adjust Shroud Tension:

• Begin by tensioning the lower shrouds to the recommended baseline tension. Use a tension gauge, Loos gauge, or tensiometer to achieve the desired tension. Repeat this process for both sides of the boat.
• Next, adjust the tension in the upper shrouds to match the recommended baseline tension. Be careful not to overtighten any of the rigging.

Spinlock Rig Sense Tension Gauge for 2-5mm Wire

Sailboat Rigging Tension Gauge from Loos & Co., PT-2 Professional Hands-Free Force Gauge Up To 2,000 lb

Sailboat Rigging Tension Gauge from Loos & Co., PT-3 Professional Hands-Free Force Gauge Up To 4,500 lb

6. Check Mast Bend:

• Securely, attach the main halyard to the lowest point on the rear base of the mast. From there, tighten the main halyard until there is a fair amount of tension on it. The main halyard represents a straight line which is the base line for your measurement. If there is mast bend present, there will be a gap between the main halyard and middle of the mast at its furthest bend point. This gap is what is to be measured for your mast bend measurement.

7. Check Mast Rake:

• Mast rake refers to the fore and aft angle of the mast. It can impact boat balance and helm feel. Use a mast rake measurement tool or reference marks on the boat to adjust the mast rake as needed, following the manufacturer’s recommendations or your sailmaker’s advice.

8. Check Forestay Tension:

• Adjust the forestay tension to achieve the desired amount of luff tension on the headsail. For sailboats with adjustable backstays, make sure your backstay off off when taking this measurement. For boats with a fixed backstay, a proper forestay tension ensures proper sail shape and minimizes sag in the forestay.

9. Tune the Backstay:

• If your boat has an adjustable backstay, adjust it to control the bend in the mast and headsail shape. More tension on the backstay usually flattens the mainsail and depowers the rig, while less tension allows for a fuller sail shape.

10. Fine-Tuning:

• Go sailing and make small adjustments to the rig while underway to achieve the best sail shape and performance. Pay attention to how the boat behaves in different wind conditions and adjust the rig accordingly.

11. Periodic Checks

• Rig tuning is not a one-time task. Check your rig regularly for any changes due to sailing conditions, mast compression, or wear. Make adjustments as needed to maintain optimal performance.

It’s essential to keep a record of your rigging settings and changes so you can refer back to them and fine-tune your rigging over time. If you’re unsure about tuning your rig, consider seeking advice from a professional rigger or experienced sailor.

The Sailor’s Marketplace for Sailboats and Sails.

Sell Your Sailboat

Sailboats for sale.

• New Sailboats
• Used Sailboats
• Cruising Sailboats
• Racing Sailboats

Sell Your Sails

Sails for sail, sail manufacturers.

• North Sails
• Quantum Sails
• Doyle Sails
• UK Sailmakers

Sailing Reviews

• Sailing Line
• Safety Equipment
• Sailing Accesories

As an Amazon Associate SailTrader earns from qualifying purchases.

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience possible. 

Attainable Adventure Cruising

The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

• Rig Tuning, Part 3—6 Steps to a Great Tune

In Part 2 we defined our goals for rake and prebend. Now let’s do it.

Login to continue reading (scroll down)

Please Share a Link:

More Articles From Online Book: Sail Handling and Rigging Made Easy:

• Six Reasons To Leave The Cockpit Often
• Don’t Forget About The Sails
• Your Mainsail Is Your Friend
• Hoisting the Mainsail Made Easy—Simplicity in Action
• Reefs: How Many and How Deep
• Reefing Made Easy
• Reefing From The Cockpit 2.0—Thinking Things Through
• Reefing Questions and Answers
• A Dangerous Myth about Reefing
• Mainsail Handling Made Easy with Lazyjacks
• Topping Lift Tips and a Hack
• 12 Reasons The Cutter Is A Great Offshore Voyaging Rig
• Cutter Rig—Should You Buy or Convert?
• Cutter Rig—Optimizing and/or Converting
• Cruising Rigs—Sloop, Cutter, or Solent?
• Sailboat Deck Layouts
• The Case For Roller-Furling Headsails
• The Case For Hank On Headsails
• UV Protection For Roller Furling Sails
• In-Mast, In-Boom, or Slab Reefing—Convenience and Reliability
• In-Mast, In-Boom, or Slab Reefing —Performance, Cost and Safety
• Making Life Easier—Roller Reefing/Furling
• Making Life Easier—Storm Jib
• Swept-Back Spreaders—We Just Don’t Get It!
• Q&A: Staysail Stay: Roller Furling And Fixed Vs Hanks And Removable
• Rigid Vangs
• Building A Safer Boom Preventer, Part 1—Forces and Angles
• Building A Safer Boom Preventer, Part 2—Line and Gear Strength Calculator
• Downwind Sailing, Tips and Tricks
• Downwind Sailing—Poling Out The Jib
• Setting and Striking a Spinnaker Made Easy and Safe
• Ten Tips To Fix Weather Helm
• Running Rigging Recommendations—Part 1
• Running Rigging Recommendations—Part 2
• Two Dangerous Rigging Mistakes
• Rig Tuning, Part 1—Preparation
• Rig Tuning, Part 2—Understanding Rake and Bend
• Rig Tuning, Part 4—Mast Blocking, Stay Tension, and Spreaders
• Rig Tuning, Part 5—Sailing Tune
• 12 Great Rigging Hacks
• 9 Tips To Make Unstepping a Sailboat Mast Easier
• Cruising Sailboat Spar Inspection
• Cruising Sailboat Standing Rigging Inspection
• Cruising Sailboat Running Rigging Inspection
• Cruising Sailboat Rig Wiring and Lighting Inspection
• Cruising Sailboat Roller Furler and Track Inspection
• Download Cruising Sailboat Rig Checklist

Hi John, this is really great stuff, however one thing keeps me pondering: in case you have no rodkicker and have your boom supported by a topping lift only, the weight of the boom will produce a pull from the mast top and a pressure point at the gooseneck, thus generating a pre-prebend that cannot be eliminated. In such a situation, would you advise to (a) remove the boom for setting initial rake and prebend, or (b) simply ignore this as the amount of inaccuracy would be so minimal it wasn’t worth the hassle?

Wow, you are really thinking about this, just as I hoped would happen. And, I had never thought of that!

That said, I don’t think it would be enough force to make a difference, unless you had really hawked-down on the mainsheet, but, now that you have pointed it out, this is certainly something I would check for if I was getting a funky bend that made no sense.

And one more: your summary lists setting the rake before moving the mast base. But if I understand correctly moving the base will itself again alter the rake, so shouldn’t one redo step 2 if the mast base has to be moved?

In theory yes, but practically with the small amount of rake on most cruising boats, and particularly keeping in mind that we are measuring at the goose neck, probably not enough to matter.

But once again, the key point is that you are really thinking this stuff through, so you are going to be able to come up with a good tune, pretty much no matter what you are faced with.

The bottom line is that once we understand the basic geometry at work, and what the desired end result is, which you clearly do, we can handle the details, regardless of whether or not I have expressly written about each of them.

Sorry, one more – when thinking this through I believe when adjusting prebend the rake might change (grow) as well – if I get you correctly the prebend should NOT change the rake, thus the prebend is reached by “bulging” the mast forward (a bit), more or less keeping the mast top at the same location. Am I correct? I tried to make a sketch for this question here – https://ibb.co/n43Ded – if I am correct the distance marked in green should be the same before and after setting prebend?

Yes, you have that right: bend does not change rake. Or to put it another way, the mast head is held one place by the fore and backstays. That said, measured rake at the goose neck, will change a little. I touch on this in Part 2.

A good read. A few thoughts that may have been in there, but I missed them.

My experience has been mostly with mutihulls, which like B&R rigs, have no backstay and generally no vang. This leads to several differences: 1. Mast bend comes primarily from raked diamond wires. Mainsheet tension may have some effect on fractional rigs, but it is minor. 2. If the mast rotates, this can have major impact on draft for two reasons. First the cord of the mast section is added to the draft. Second, rotating the mast pushes cloth into the center of the sail (prebend pulls it out, but a rotated mast is straight), increasing draft. Thus, it is common to over rotate off the wind and under rotate beating in heavy air. 3. Forestay tension comes almost entirely from mainsheet tension. Ease the main in a gust and the jib instantly becomes more full due to forestay sag, defeating part of what you were trying to accomplish. Thus, playing the traveller or reefing are better alternatives than a loose, twisted main. A small jib upwind is also a common solution, since it is hard to maintain a tight forestay. This is why it is common to see performance multihulls beating in heavy air with a small jib hauled out slightly to maintain slot, eased traveller, and a tight mainsheet.

Yes, all good points. As I said in part 1, I decided to just focus on masthead rigs that do not rely on swept backed spreaders so as to keep the series manageable. And even with that it’s going 5 parts and over 7000 words!

I unstepped my mast for the first time and had new standing rigging made last year. upon setup it appears the starboard aft side of the mast is touching at the partner. I used the original wood wedges for the first thousand miles to let the new rigging stretch before installing spartite. I got the boat leveled and installed a rieker 1 degree inclinometer, which is a great addition btw. using the plumb bob method my masthead is still off 3″ to port at the gooseneck but is just barely touching the afth starboard side at the partners….i can move the butt about1/16th” fore and aft but there is no play at the butt for athwartship adjustment. have you come across this? would it be better to have a bit of bend at the partners to allow for the spartite or let the starboard side of mast rest on the partners? thank you for the great article!

Yikes, it seems that either the step or partners are badly out of true. The only other thing I can think of is that there is a big wow in the mast low down, which is throwing things off, but I assume you have checked for that?

The right way to fix this is to determine whether it’s the step or the partners and then fix the core problem. I really don’t like the idea of inducing a bend at the partners to compensate. This is a highly loaded part of the mast and I think there is a risk of stress cracking if you do that. Also, I don’t like the idea of having the mast hard up against the partners, although I guess it’s the lesser of too evils, as long as it is not carbon. (Carbon masts require at least 1/2″ of spartite cushioning at the partners)

I guess, if it were me, and I did not want to take on fixing the boat, I would lean the mast a bit more to starboard to produce at least 1/4″ of clearance to port for the spartite with the mast straight athwartships and rake and prebend where you want them. Far from ideal, but I think the best of the three options.

That said, before doing anything, I would recheck everything you have done so far, starting with the first chapter of this guide, to make sure there was not an error in levelling the boat or setting up the mast. Also make absolutely sure you have rake and prebend right since you say the aft port side of the partners is the problem, therefore less rake, or more prebend, might also have a positive effect by moving the mast forward at the partners.

Seeing this whole process written down in an article does make it seem very laborious indeed. That’s what it felt like the first time I did it too.

However, for anyone contemplating giving up and just going with poor tune, I would like to share some encouragement:

Our boat has a longish keel with an attached rudder. It was always known for being hard to steer with an amazing amount of weather helm when beating in a breeze. So much so that I had to support both legs on a coaming, sitting sideways on the cockpit seat, and pull with both hands on the tiller like I was deadlifting weights any time a puff came along.

I started learning about sail trim, which did help some. But still, steering with one hand only was not possible in a stiff breeze.

Enter rig tuning. After spending two long days learning a process very similar to the one You describe, the result was simply astonishing: the boat sails with one hand on the tiller, heels far less as tuning the rig helps flattening the sails much further, and weather helm is modest.

After learning with some trial and error, getting a good tune is easy and the process seems logical once learned – takes a few hours every spring nowadays.

As a bonus, proper rake & bend makes the boat look a lot better.

Time very well spent!!

Thanks for providing the encouragement. As you say, a good tune is vital, but sadly I’m guessing that less than 5% of cruisers bother. We have a lot more on weather helm here: https://www.morganscloud.com/2016/06/10/ten-tips-to-fix-weather-helm/

Practical Boat Owner

• Digital edition

Rig tuning: a practical guide for sailors

• August 28, 2023

Correct rig tension will maximise the efficiency of your boat’s sails as well as reduce stresses on the mast. David Pugh demonstrates simple rig tuning

Safety is the number one benefit of tuning your rigging

As a cruising sailor, it’s tempting to simply set up your sail boat rig at the beginning of the season, then leave well alone.

Perhaps you leave the mast up, perhaps you mark the position of the turnbuckles before the mast comes down, perhaps you set the rig up from scratch or perhaps you pay an expert.

All these can work, but none are immune from one basic problem: boats move.

How much depends on the boat’s construction, particularly whether the mast is keel- or deck- stepped, but most will do so within a few days or weeks after the initial rig tension is applied.

The boat may continue to do so over time and rigging may stretch, especially when new, so it’s worth knowing how to correct it yourself.

My own boat, Contessa 26 Red Dragon , is a devil for this.

During the winter she sits on a trailer with the mast down, the keel supported along its length and in turn supporting the superstructure, aided by six pads and a bow post bearing on the boat hull .

At launch, these forces all change: the buoyancy of the hull now supports the keel, and the mast foot pushes down on the laminated deck beam under the step.

The rigging, meanwhile, increases the pressure on the step while trying to pull the chainplates through the deck.

I’ve never measured her beam before and after applying rig tension, but I suspect she becomes significantly wider.

She certainly doesn’t maintain her initial rig tension.

Benefits of rig tuning to get the correct tension

The first and most fundamental benefit of correct rig tension is safety.

An improperly supported mast is put under all sorts of stresses that it is not designed to endure, and dismasting can be the result.

Try sighting up the mast when the boat is close-hauled in a good breeze.

If the lee shrouds are slack and the middle or top of the mast is sagging to leeward, your mast is not properly supported and you should check your rig tension.

The second benefit is efficiency.

Continues below…

Sail boat rigs: the pros and cons of each popular design

Peter Poland looks at the history of popular rig designs and how the different types affect boat performance

Rigging setup: Turning round a yacht’s performance

Little old boats can offer enormous fun for your money, but they often require some tweaking in order to be…

How to set up your rig: tension your shrouds on masthead or fractional

How to set up your rig: tension your shrouds on masthead or fractional If boats were cars, many of those…

How to check your rigging – video guide

There are plenty of ways that a mast or its rigging can fail, but there are often key telltale signs…

The combination of rig, spars and sails is anything but simple, and if your s ailmaker has done their job properly and measured your boat rather than making your sails from documented figures, the luff curve of the main and the hollow of the jib or jibs will have been cut to suit the bend in the mast and the forestay tension at the time of measurement.

That means you’ll need to be able to replicate that situation when you set up the rig in order to gain maximum efficiency from your sails.

And, just to make things harder, as time goes by and your sails stretch, these optimum settings will change.

Conditions also affect the best settings for your rig.

Light airs demand softer settings than sailing in a gale, and you’ll often see racers tweaking their rig tensions to suit the conditions.

For cruisers seeking to set up and forget about their rig, the best option is to err towards setting up the boat for stronger winds, especially with shroud tension.

Forestay tension can be more dynamic, provided your boat has an adjustable backstay.

Simple rig set up

Some boats have designer’s recommendations for mast rake, bend and rig tension – if yours is one of them, follow the instructions.

The rest of us are obliged to make it up from scratch – so where do you start?

While some professional riggers might be able to assess the tension in a wire with a carefully calibrated shove, the rest of us need a bit of help.

You can either buy a rig tension gauge or measure the extension of the wire.

This latter method works on the basis that, for 1×19 rigging wire, an elongation of 1mm over 2m equates to 5% of the break load of the wire.

Seldén have a good explanation on their website – search ‘Seldén rig set-up’.

The tension you are aiming for will vary from boat to boat and between types of rigging wire, but a gauge will make it much easier to keep the tension even on opposite shrouds.

For the initial set-up the boat should ideally be floating level – it makes it much easier to see whether, despite the measurements, everything looks right.

I find it’s best to be on a finger berth, which allows you to get off the boat to assess whether the mast is upright.

Make sure that the mast is upright

If you’re starting from scratch, begin by centring the mast in the boat.

Leave the lowers fairly slack and use the main halyard to measure to the chainplates on each side.

You can then adjust the bottlescrews to make sure the cap shrouds are of equal length.

Use the main halyard to measure to the cap shroud chainplates on both sides

If your boat is symmetrical, the mast will be upright.

If your mast is keel-stepped, insert the chocks in the partners now before you apply rig tension.

Finally, tighten the cap shroud bottlescrews hand-tight, making sure you put the same number of turns on each.

Set up the mast rake

Next, set the mast rake. If you have a setting from the designer, use it.

If not, you’re most likely looking for a rake of between 1° and 2°, or 1:60 to 1:30.

So for a 9m mast, you would expect the offset between masthead and mast foot to be between 15cm and 30cm.

Measure it by hanging a weight from the main halyard and measuring the distance between the weight and the mast foot.

The forestay bottlescrew sets mast rake

If it’s windy, hanging the weight in a bucket of water will help damp the swing of the halyard.

Pull on a little backstay before using the forestay bottlescrew to move the masthead fore or aft and adjust the rake.

The backstay helps the masthead to move – with no tension, the forestay will simply become slack as you back off the bottlescrew.

Steeper rakes tend to go with fractional rigs, but this is by no means a rule – you may need to experiment to find what works for your boat.

Increasing the rake will increase weather helm , and vice versa.

Tension the cap shrouds

It’s now time to begin tensioning the rigging properly.

Take the slack out of the lowers at this stage, but don’t tighten them fully yet.

Then, using your tension gauge and making sure you keep the number of turns on each side equal, tension the cap shrouds to their working tension.

Most tension gauges are calibrated to show a percentage of the breaking strength of the wire: with my boat, I find that around 15% is sufficient to keep the rig taut in the conditions in which we sail.

A gauge makes rig set-up easier

If you have a keel-stepped fractional rig with swept spreaders you should carry out this stage with the backstay fully tensioned, as it will initiate a bend in the mast which is fixed by tightening the caps.

If you do this, be careful that the mast does not go out of column side to side – if it does, ease the backstay slightly.

Once the caps are tensioned, sight up the mainsail luff groove to check whether the mast has any bend, fore and aft or side to side.

If you have swept spreaders you can expect it to have some fore and aft bend, but otherwise it should still be in column.

If it isn’t, don’t worry too much unless the bend is large, as you can remove small errors with the lower shrouds.

Sight up the luff groove to check that the mast is in column from side to side

Set the mast pre-bend

The lower (and intermediate, if you have them) shrouds are your opportunity to set fore and aft mast bend, as well as preventing the middle of the mast sagging off to leeward.

It’s advisable to have at least some pre-bend in your mast to avoid it inverting downwind.

For straight spreader rigs, the lowers do all the work in setting bend. Start by tensioning the babystay or forward lowers.

The optimum amount depends on how your mainsail is cut – for a stiff masthead rig like mine I only look for about 10cm of bend with the backstay off, measured by holding the main halyard tight to the foot of the mast and eyeballing the deflection.

Use a second spanner to hold the shroud still when tensioning the bottlescrew

This usually equates to around 7% of the wire break load on the gauge.

For more flexible masts and fractional rigs, you will probably need more bend.

Again, use the tension gauge to keep the tension even from side to side.

Finally, tighten the aft lowers, enough to remove any slack but not to significantly alter the mast bend.

Swept spreader rigs will tend to have lower and intermediate shrouds set abaft the mast, so the simplest thing to do is to tighten them enough to maintain the bend set when you tensioned the cap shrouds.

The tighter they are, the less the mast wants to bend, which will help transfer backstay tension to the forestay but will make it harder to flatten the main with mast bend.

The optimum setting will depend on your sails and the conditions.

Check the mast is straight

With the fore and aft bend set, check the mast is still in column side to side.

Hopefully it will be, but if it isn’t, use the lowers and intermediates to true it up.

On a single spreader rig the aft lowers are usually the best tool for this, but if the bend is significant you might need to relax the opposite forward lower, if there is one, to allow the mast to move.

If you do, make sure you retain the fore and aft bend, and keep checking the tensions in all the lowers to keep them as even as possible.

With the bend set and the mast straight, go back and check the tension in the cap shrouds.

It may have reduced with the mast bend, in which case bring it back up to your desired tension.

Tension the backstay

With the rig basically set up, tension the backstay bottlescrews to your minimum working tension.

I set ours to about 7% of the wire load, with application of the tensioner taking it up to around 17%.

Even on a stiff masthead rig like ours, this compresses the mast enough to introduce significantly more bend, and more importantly for us dramatically increases forestay tension.

With a backstay bridle like this, check the tension above the joining plate

If you don’t use a backstay adjuster, set the backstay to a similar tension to that of the cap shrouds, then go forward and check the forestay.

The tension should be similar, and will help with your upwind performance.

The above will give you a good initial set-up, but there’s no substitute for seeing how it behaves under sail.

Head out in a moderate breeze, put the boat on the wind and hand over the helm to someone else.

Then check your leeward cap shrouds.

They should still be taut in these conditions – if they aren’t, you need more rig tension.

In a moderate breeze, the leeward shrouds should stay taut

Next, sight up the mast to check it is still in column. If the middle sags to leeward, tighten the lowers.

If the tip sags off it could be the middle popping to windward or the tip sagging.

Both over-tight lowers and loose cap shrouds will have this effect, and it can be dangerous as it reduces the angle at which the cap shroud meets the masthead, making its support less effective.

If you have this problem, check your tension settings before making a decision which to alter.

Rig tuning: conclusion

A well-tuned rig makes a boat sail better, while ensuring your mast is correctly supported is a safety essential.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, boats move, so although you should be able to leave your mast rake and side-to-side centring alone, keep an eye on the shroud tensions.

They may well reduce, especially in the first weeks after setting up the rig, so don’t assume that all is well.

You keep an eye on your engine levels – five minutes with a tension gauge or a wander around the deck under sail will do the same for your rig

Enjoyed reading Rig tuning: a practical guide for sailors?

A subscription to Practical Boat Owner magazine costs around 40% less than the cover price .

Print and digital editions are available through Magazines Direct – where you can also find the latest deals .

PBO is packed with information to help you get the most from boat ownership – whether sail or power.

• Take your DIY skills to the next level with trusted advice on boat maintenance and repairs
• Impartial in-depth gear reviews
• Practical cruising tips for making the most of your time afloat

Follow us on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter

• New Sailboats
• Sailboats 21-30ft
• Sailboats 31-35ft
• Sailboats 36-40ft
• Sailboats Over 40ft
• Sailboats Under 21feet
• used_sailboats
• Apps and Computer Programs
• Communications
• Fishfinders
• Handheld Electronics
• Plotters MFDS Rradar
• Wind, Speed & Depth Instruments
• Anchoring Mooring
• Running Rigging
• Sails Canvas
• Standing Rigging
• Diesel Engines
• Off Grid Energy
• Cleaning Waxing
• DIY Projects
• Repair, Tools & Materials
• Spare Parts
• Tools & Gadgets
• Cabin Comfort
• Ventilation
• Footwear Apparel
• Foul Weather Gear
• Mailport & PS Advisor
• Inside Practical Sailor Blog
• Activate My Web Access
• Reset Password
• Customer Service

• Free Newsletter

Dufour 44 Used Boat Review

Blue Jacket 40 Used Boat Review

Catalina 270 vs. The Beneteau First 265 Used Boat Match-Up

Ericson 41 Used Boat Review

How to Create a Bullet-Proof VHF/SSB Backup

Tips From A First “Sail” on the ICW

Tillerpilot Tips and Safety Cautions

Best Crimpers and Strippers for Fixing Marine Electrical Connectors

Solving the Dodger Dilemma

Polyester vs. Nylon Rode

Getting the Most Out of Older Sails

How (Not) to Tie Your Boat to a Dock

Fuel Lift Pump: Easy DIY Diesel Fuel System Diagnostic and Repair

Ensuring Safe Shorepower

Sinking? Check Your Stuffing Box

Why Choose the Wharram Design?

Winterizing: Make It Easy With Checklists

Boat Improvements for the Technically Illiterate

What Do You Do With Old Fiberglass Boats?

Stopping Holding-tank Odors

Giving Bugs the Big Goodbye

Galley Gadgets for the Cruising Sailor

The Rain Catcher’s Guide

Sailing Gear for Kids

What’s the Best Sunscreen?

UV Clothing: Is It Worth the Hype?

Preparing Yourself for Solo Sailing

R. Tucker Thompson Tall Ship Youth Voyage

On Watch: This 60-Year-Old Hinckley Pilot 35 is Also a Working…

On Watch: America’s Cup

On Watch: All Eyes on Europe Sail Racing

Dear Readers

• Waypoints Tips
• Boat Owner’s Mechanical & Electrical Manual

Boat Clinic: Tuning the Masthead Rig

Tuning the rig of a boat is one of the necessary — and unpleasant — tasks that must be done to achieve good boat performance. In an un-tuned boat, the mast bends in odd ways, and this in turn causes the sails to set badly. By contrast, on a well-tuned boat, the rig bends in a controlled fashion, allowing the sails to do their best. For this reason, an avid racer will be constantly fiddling with the tune of his boat, while most of us do it once during commissioning, and that may suffice.

The first thing to realize is that for a mast to stand well, it should not be straight when it’s in a static, no-load situation. This was something I realized nearly 30 years ago when conventional advice was to tune rigs so that masts were indeed straight when static, and while that advice is still sometimes given, most of the sailing world has realized that a controlled static bend is needed.

The problem with a statically straight mast is that when loaded, it is too easy for the mast to invert, or bend backward. This can happen when the boat is beating in a seaway or reaching with the spinnaker pole up. Most mast sections can accommodate a significant amount of forward bend without failure, but very little aft bend.

For additional, detailed advice on standing rigging, purchase Nigel Calder’s Boat Owner’s Mechanical & Electrical Manual from Practical Sailor’s online bookstore.

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Standing Watch

Heavy Weather Myths Debunked

Fuel-Fire Prevention Techniques

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Log in to leave a comment

Latest Videos

The Performance Sailboat from Island Packet: Blue Jacket 40 Boat Review

Top 3 Winter Boat HACKS!

Cabo Rico 34 Boat Review

Super Shallow Draft Sailboat: The Leeboard Sharpie

Latest sailboat review.

• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell My Personal Information
• Online Account Activation
• Privacy Manager

Sail Technologies | Custom Performance and Cruising Sails and Sail Repairs

S2 7.9 tuning guidelines.

Mast Tuning for “OLD” Mast :

These are the shroud numbers we recommend for most wind speeds:

New Mast Tuning

Original Loos Gauge -C

Pro Model – A

• Our Facilities
• LoadPath Sail Technology
• Design Software
• New Sail Quote Request
• Racing Sails
• Cruising Sails
• One Design Sails
• Specialty Sails and Flags
•  Sail Gallery
• Submit a Repair Ticket
• Flying Tiger

A Mast Tuning Guide - The Light Version

Mast tuning is simple if you remember a couple of basic principles. If you understand these principles, you can tune just about any mast.

The first principle, and probably the most important, concerns tuning the mast athwart ships. the diagonal shrouds, lowers and intermediates, always pull the mast to weather at the spreader where they terminate. The spreaders, on the other hand, due to the compression from the wires going over their tips, push the mast to leeward. in order to tune a mast, you need to establish a dynamic balance between "pull" of the diagonal and the "push" of the spreader.

The second principle is that the length of the headstay controls the rake of the mast, i.e., the amount that the mast is aft of plumb in the boat. masts, in general, should always have at least a small amount of rake, they are usually designed for one to two degrees of rake. the feel of the helm is the ultimate test of the rake. Making a mast more vertical will help weather helm and more rake will help to correct lee helm. this is a bit of a simplification, but after all this is the "light" version of mast tuning.

The third principle is that most masts should have a slight "prebend" over their length with the headstay firm from a minimum of backstay load. prebend can be visualized best by stretching the main halyard down the aft face of the mast. the maximum distance that the back of the mast is in front of the halyard is the prebend (you should take into account any offset that the position of the main halyard sheave causes). prebend can be attained by tightening forward lowers, chocking the mast forward in the collar at the deck, moving the mast step aft (on a keel stepped mast), or lengthening the headstay. the amount of prebend varies from about 1" for a single spreader deck stepped mast to 6" for larger keel stepped spars.

The last principle concerns the amount of tension in the rigging. as a general rule, when the rig is fully loaded up (top end of the #1), the leeward shrouds should be beginning to appear to slacken. they can be deflected by hand, but not swinging loose. This will approach optimum general rig tension for most normal boats. individually the wire tensions should be higher in the lowers and uppers than in any of the intermediates.

The tuning sequence that has worked the best for us is to start by centering the spar in the boat athwartships with the uppers. we tighten the uppers slightly. next the lowers are adjusted so that the mast at the lower spreader is centered on the masthead. sighting up the sail track is the best way to determine this. if the mast has multiple sets of spreaders, then the intermediates are adjusted next starting at the upper spreader. when the mast looks to be in column from the deck to the tip, then rig tension can be applied (chock the mast sideways and fore and aft now if it is a keel stepped mast- make sure the step position is correct for the required prebend). We add additional tension by adding equal numbers of turns to each side of the turnbuckles in the same sequence that we first used. make sure that the turnbuckles are lubricated with heavy lubricant to prevent galling and damage to the threads. check to see if additional adjusting of the shrouds is necessary as you add tension to the rig. check the headstay to see if the rake of the mast is correct. check the prebend. tension the backstay and see if the mast remains straight under load. that should conclude the dock tune portion of the setup.

Some hints:

If the tip of your mast seems to fall off, and your uppers are fairly tight, try loosening the intermediates.

Check the rake of a mast by tying a heavy object to the main halyard and measuring the offset from the back of the mast. subtract any sheave offset present.

Make sure to do the final tuning of the mast when sailing. make sure that the mast remains straight athwart ships. check that the mast bends forward in the center (the reason for prebend).

Check to make sure that the bottom of the mast is square athwart ships, and for a keel stepped mast that the mast is straight through the deck. if it is not, the mast will be forced into an s bend that is impossible to tune out. we usually tune a keel stepped mast with the deck chocks out and shim the mast sideways after the mast is straight athwart ships. mast steps and mast collars are rarely exactly on the centerline of the boat.

Use a steel tape run up the pole lift or main halyard to get the mast vertical in the boat.

Always pin and tape turnbuckles and cotter pins after tuning. be sure the cotter pins are taped so that the sharp ends are covered to protect people and sails.

Well, there it is, forty-five years of experience condensed into one and one-half pages. now you should be ready to tackle tuning any mast. in fact, I hear there are some openings for riggers for the next America's Cup.

Buzz Ballenger, Pres.

Seven Depowering Tools – Sail Controls, Rig Tuning, Boat Trim

Our recent post, Learn to Change Gears , focused on three upwind “gears:” footing, pointing, and max VMG. These gears rely on changing the angle of attack. In this post we address another form of gears: using sail controls, rig tuning and boat trim as powering up and depowering tools.

This post assumes you understand basic sail shape concepts and the function of the sail controls. Refer to our series on Shaping Your Mainsail for background.

Seven Depowering Tools

Most boats have the sail controls and rigging to power up and depower the rig in various wind and wave conditions. For this discussion, we’ll use the common controls on a cat-rigged boat. We’ll focus on depowering; powering up uses the same controls and sequences in reverse.

#1. Outhaul

Several top sailors use outhaul as their first depowering tool since it has the least impact on other aspects of sail shape.

Tension the outhaul to flatten the sail near the foot, reducing power and drag.

• Reducing power near the foot is not as costly as it might seem, since some power near the foot is wasted due to “leakage” flow under the boom.
• Don’t over-flatten the foot. This opens the lower leech and reduces pointing ability, especially when you are depowering the rest of the sail. Consider using a leech ribbon on the end of the bottom batten. If it’s always streaming the lower leech may be too open.

To depower successfully you must use the boom vang. Vang tension flattens the bottom two-thirds of the sail. The tension needed depends on mast bend and sail design. Use more vang when the mast doesn’t bend as easily or when the sail has a lot of luff curve.

• With too much vang tension, the sail entry can get too flat and becomes a hard spot in the sail, never reacting to changes. The leeward luff telltales won’t stream, indicating loss of lift.
• Too much vang tension may also tighten the upper leech, leaving it unresponsive to puffs.
• Vang sheeting is a common way of responding to puffs and lulls. Use a relatively tight vang and work the mainsheet aggressively, easing in puffs to let the top of the sail twist open. Trim in as soon as the brunt of the puff subsides. See our post, Vang Sheeting and Snugging for more.

#3. Traveler

In cat-rigged boats, many sailors position the traveler car below centerline (i.e., “drop” the traveler) as soon as they are hiking hard and especially in waves.

• Drop the traveler to increase the forward component of lift and reduce the side force. This has minimal effect on pointing since the increased boat speed will give the boards more bite.
• With the traveler dropped, sheet the main very hard to keep the sail flat . The reduced side force allows you to sheet harder and still maintain control. You won’t need to work the mainsheet as much as when you are vang sheeting with the traveler centered.

#4. Cunningham

Tension the cunningham progressively to compensate as the wind builds. More wind forces the maximum draft aft (50% aft or more). Cunningham tension returns the draft position to 40-50% aft.  

• Draft > 50% aft is undesirable since it increases side force and hooks the upper leech, creating additional weather helm.
• The cunningham is more effective in sails with a longer chord length at the top of the sail (e.g., C scows)
• Cunningham tension may also contribute to mast bend if pulled very hard with a bendy mast.

#5. Luff the Mainsail

This is an easy way to depower and is often necessary in big puffs. However, luffing the sail markedly increases drag. Avoid luffing the sail routinely except in extreme conditions when you’ve already maxed out the other options.

#6. Board Height

Raise the centerboard/daggerboard/bilge board to depower the boat’s response. See our post, Raise Your Board in Heavy Air – Three Reasons for the effect on angle of heel, drag, and weather helm.

#7. Rig Tuning and Mast Bend

Sailmakers’ tuning guides address mast bend. The guides for sophisticated rig designs address both lateral and fore-and-aft bend, with different settings for different wind conditions. We’ll give the basics here and cover more in a future post on rig tuning.

• If the mid-mast sags to leeward, the upper mast will poke to windward. This condition generates more power, since the mid sail will become fuller, and the upper leech will stay closed longer.
• If the mid-mast pokes to windward, the upper mast will fall off to leeward. This reduces power.
• More fore-and-aft bend reduces power since it flattens the sail.
• Rig tuning also keeps the mast shape from changing too much as the wind builds. That’s why many tuning guides recommend tightening the rig in heavier air. In extreme cases, this prevents mast failure from too much bend.
• Ideally, a rig will respond automatically to changes in wind. For example, in some designs, the mid-mast will sag to leeward when underpowered and poke to windward when overpowered.

Experiment with Combinations

Find the right combination of these controls for your boat in different conditions, using two-boat testing. Here are some things to try:

• Use the outhaul as your first depowering tool.
• If you don’t routinely use the vang much, try using it earlier. Once the boat is up to speed, flattening the sails aids pointing. Just be sure to power back up if you’re not hiking or if the boat slows.
• Add cunningham tension as you add vang, since the vang and increased wind tends to move the draft aft.
• Experiment with traveler position. Some sailors vang sheet and drop traveler as a last resort. Others drop traveler early and rely less on vang sheeting. Still others cleat the main and play the traveler in puffs.
• To control weather helm, combine dropping the traveler and raising the boards. Do this in small increments: too much of either will reduce pointing.

Transitions

The fastest sailors transition continually between powering up and depowering. See our post, Do You Have the Right Touch? to get inspired about the need for transitions. Unfortunately, sailboats don’t have accelerator pedals and automatic transmissions, making transitions a skill that needs constant practice.

Related Content

Sail Power: Depowering & Powering-Up – North Sails

Related Posts

Upwind Sailing Tips by Sarah Ayton & Saskia Clark

Upwind Boat Speed – SailZing Aha! Insights

MC-Scow Sailing Speed Guide Plus Drills

Leave a comment cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

 by Paul Beaudin "PB"

J105 Tuning Guide

Getting Started . Boat Preparation . Mast Prep . Deck and Rigging Details . Setup and Tuning . Rig Tension Guide . Installing Your New Sails Sailing . Mainsail Trim . Jib Trim . Spinnaker Trim . Upwind Sailing Tricks . Downwind Sailing Tricks . Line Guide

Introduction

The J105 has become the success story of one-design racing in the new millennium. With over 680 boats built to date, the class is the largest cruiser-racer one-design. Easily sailed with a small crew, the responsive design allows the boat to be fun to sail with only a main, jib and asymmetric spinnaker. Here we will explore the process required for success with your J105 racing program. Success in one-design can be summated into one sentence: He who makes the least mistakes wins. Let us break this down into specific details and progressions towards advancement. The most important factor is boat speed. A racers IQ elevates exponentially as the relative boat speed increases. Boat speed is created through enhancing many small features. Every time you comment that does not matter write it down, because it does matter. Add up 10 insignificant items and you get something tangible. Add up 20 items and your sailing experience changes. Be advised: there are many roads to victory and this tuning guide outlines certain proven techniques that are no way meant to be the only way. We expect the prudent racer not to consider this the bible but to add these concepts and techniques to your existing bag of tricks. Doyle Sails is happy to have and will continue to support the growth of the J105 Class. I am a committed owner and want to help you get the most out of your boat. The better everyone in the class, the better the class.

~ Paul Beaudin "PB"

Boat Preparation / Bottom

The fairness of your bottom and the correct shaping of your foils, keel and rudder are of paramount importance. Perfect foil shape will allow the blades to work to maximum efficiency. Along with a fair bottom allowing minimum drag will result in a maximized boat speed potential. As you will see in the following text everything we do while sailing is geared around maintaining foil and hull form efficiency. The keel is the reason the boat goes forward and not side ways. Always make sure your bottom is perfectly clean. It is shame to cover a beautiful bottom job with slime. Not to mention, very slow. In my area the boats are wet sailed and cleaned weekly by divers. I paint my bottom with a hard finished paint and use a lighter color to make it easier for the diver to clean.

Boat Preparation / Minimum Weight

Drag is slow; keeping the boat at minimum weight will result in greater boat speed. Anything less in the boat will result in greater boatspeed except crew weight, which is movable ballast. Keep everything that is not required, off. Keep all required gear stored as low as possible. I store these items along with a few spare lines, hardware, repair kit and tools in the storage below the galley and nav table with the anchor, 2 required dock lines and bumpers under the starboard main cabin bunk. No bilge water, cooking stuff, unnecessary dock lines, redundant clothing, cruising sails, stamp collections, etc.  Absolutely keep everything out of the aft compartments and V-berth (except the spinnaker).

Boat Preparation / Weight Aloft

Sailing is physics; righting moment vs. wind pressure equals boatspeed. Weight up the rig decreases righting moment exponentially. Again anything not required is slow. Use minimum weight halyards (3 only), small size Windex (unlit) and minimal weight wind instruments. No masthead VHF, lightning rods or Tricolor lights. Remove any redundant wiring. Note:  I am using 10mm halyards for the main and jib to keep clutch slip to a minimum. I use an 8mm Spin halyard. My halyards are not stripped to make them last longer and I get them with a luggage eye in both ends easily end for end for extended life. I will suffer a bit of weight, here and there, but with my other due diligence I can afford a little latitude.  I have no masthead light or instruments, only a small windex. 

Mast Preparation / Forestay Length

I like my forestay at the old maximum 13.035 meters from the forestay attachment to the stem sheerline.  You will usually need to add a toggle to the top of the forestay to make the forestay long enough. Make your furling drum as close to the deck as possible. On the older Harken III furlers, we will have the adjustment screw on the bottom of the furler all the way in. We will fine tune our stay length with the internal adjustment screw on the furler. Use a small shackle on the drum to attach the jib. This keeps the jib close to the deck and creates a better endplate effect. Increasing the efficiency of the jib

Mast Preparation / Measuring with the Mast Down

First measure the distance from the stem/sheer line intersection to the center of the forestay pin on the bow tang. Then measure the forestay, center of pin to center of pin for the difference. Secure the locknut on your furler turnbuckle and you should not need to touch this again.

Mast Preparation / Measuring with the Mast Up

Place a mark on your mast 1000mm down from the top of the black band at the gooseneck. Attach a metal tape measure to your jib halyard and pull tight to the top. We use a metal tape because it will have less stretch than the halyard. Measure to the mark on the mast, pendulum the tape to your forestay and make a mark at the same measurement. The distance from this mark to the stem sheer line intersection is 1270mm. Secure the locknut on your furler turnbuckle and you should not need to touch this again.

Mast Preparation / Set the Mast Rake

This is a critical element of tuning. The Hall Spar in most boats is a fairly soft section for the job at hand. As will be further discussed below, it is hard to get the mast stiff enough, as the breeze builds, to maintain the amount of forestay sag we need to make the jib point well upwind. We want a straight mast, with no prebend (bend in the mast, at rest, without backstay).

Mast Preparation / Set Your Mast Butt

Loosen all the shrouds to slack. Take the spinnaker halyard around the upper shroud and secure aft to one of the spinnaker sheet block bails in the back of the boat. Tighten the spin halyard to remove the slack from the forestay. Mark the position of the mast at the deck fore and aft. Remove the deck chocking, if possible. My mast has Spartite that centers the mast in hole, but I can slide it up and down to do this measurement. Loosen the mast base bolts. I use a rubber mallet and a block of wood to bang the butt forward and aft. Move the butt so the mast is in a neutral position at the chock mark and reinstall the deck chocking.  The aft face of the mast should end up about 10 inches from the bulkhead aft (not the molding) on TPI built boats.

Mast Preparation / Center the Rig

Hoist a tape measure up the genoa halyard. Measuring from side to side to the base of the chainplates, center the rig using the Upper shrouds only. Dont tension to create a compression bend, just enough to keep the mast from flopping around. Keeping the intermediate shrouds loose hand tension the lowers keeping the mast perfectly straight. Note:  Hall masts have a design flaw which kinks the mast at the hounds (forestay attachment) aft usually around one inch. This has little effect on sailing but if your mast is kinked, to have no prebend, the mast should be straight up to that point.

Mast Preparation / Mark Your Spreaders

Install three tape marks on your lower spreaders at 3, 6, 9, 12 inches from the tip for future reference. We usually sail with the leech of the jib between the 3 and 6 inch marks. The 9 and 12 inch marks are for viewing through the mainsail window and should be a different color. 

Mast Preparation / Rig Tools

Combo Wrenches, Waterproof Notepad, Pencil, Calipers.

Combo wrenches 3/4 and 9/16 tied together will work on 90% of the boats with open turnbuckles

Mast Preparation / Setup & Tuning

These are general numbers to get you started. Each boat will tune a little differently and the Loos gauges are not entirely consistent either. Make sure you understand the underlying goals of tuning and you will be able to adjust your own numbers accordingly. The goal is to keep the mast as straight as possible. With the minimal sweep of the spreaders and the size of the spar section the mast is soft for this size boat. We need to keep the mast as straight as possible to maintain its ability to support the forestay as the breeze builds and backstay is applied. This also allows mainsheet tension to also auto trim the headstay in light air. With a straight mast, as you tension the mainsheet or backstay more energy is applied directly to the forestay. The straight mast will also allow for the most projected mainsail area as roach is pushed out to back of the sail. All this rig tuning is done to allow the mast to fit your sails and for your sails to be as flexible as possible to work through the entire wind range. We are asking a limited number of sails (only 2 jibs upwind) to do the work that as many as 10 sails might have done on similar boats under handicap rules.

Nice shot of the correct  headstay sag for the base setting.

How I set up my initial Base Tune. 5-10 knots

Using a Loos #10 Rod Tension Gauge. Tune the Upper Shrouds to 35, 45 on a pre-scrimp boat. Intermediates hand tight. Lowers hand tight -1 full turn. Now I go sailing, in 5-10 knots.  While sailing upwind I will dial in the intermediate and lower shrouds. With this dock tune you should have a fair bit of leeward sag in the mast. You can easily sight this from the front looking up. I will tune the lower and intermediates to bring the mast to showing just a hint of leeward sag on each tack. You should be able to tune the weather lowers and intermediates in this much wind and the process will not be too hard. With the backstay slack, the mast should be straight fore and aft. Next I will check the headstay sag, which should be right around 10 inches. The headstay sag is probably the most important part of this equation.  Note: On pre-scrimp boats dial the uppers to the 10 inches of headstay sag first. I have seen a big variation on how much tension it takes to get there from boat to boat. Not all pre-scrimp boats tune the same.  Scrimp boats seem to be more consistent in this regard. This is your base setting for 5-10 knots of breeze. From here it gets pretty easy.

Measure your gaps  THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT Get out your waterproof note book, pencil, and calipers. Measure the distance between the gap of all the shroud studs and record, as shown. This will become your Tuning Bible . Note: for Ronstan turnbuckles, use the calibrated numbers to records your gaps and double the amount of turns below for each tune. You are only turning one screw, as opposed to two on the open body style turnbuckles.

Installing Your New Doyle Sails

Roller Furling Class Jib

Make sure you have a small shackle at the furling drum and not a snap shackle or connector. Keep the tack of the sail as low as possible. This sail has no UV cover so if you store it on the furler, use the optional jib cover sock to protect it from damaging UV rays. Hoist the sail up by hand until the cloth is snug. Mark your jib halyard as it enters the front of the stopper and add 2 marks in front of this mark at 2 inch intervals for quick reference.

Class Mainsail

Lay the sail out on the deck and install the battens, tapered end inboard. We like to roll the main for long term storage, but will usually flake it on the boom removing the slides from the mast when the sail comes down. Hoisting the main with the Allslip slides is pretty easy. Again mark your halyard for future reference.

Class Asymmetric Spinnaker

This is launched from the forepeak out of the forward hatch.

Upwind Sailing

Over View: In light air we are keeping the boat as powered up as possible and trying to go fast rather than point. We try to keep our weight centered in the boat and low, with a minimum amount of movement. As the breeze builds the primary focus is on the amount of helm. We do everything we can to keep the helm light with just a hint of weather helm. To maintain the proper helm, through a given tune range, we will adjust the crew weight (hiking), backstay, traveler and jib leads to balance the helm.

Mainsail Trim / Halyard

Adjust halyard tension to keep the draft (deepest part) of the sail at 45-50%. You will have wrinkles in luff in winds to about 12knots TW . Basically keep tightening the luff as the breeze builds.

Mainsail Trim / Cunningham

Set your halyard tension to the lulls for the beat and adjust your luff tension with the cunningham as the breeze changes on the beat. We use no cunningham below 10knots and snug to remove the wrinkles in 10-20 knots. Above 20knots apply firmly. If the wind build consistently remember that your halyard will have to be tighter on the next upwind.

Mainsail Trim / Sheet Tension

We design the sail so you can trim hard with out it closing the top too quickly. Keep the top batten parallel with the boom and the top telltale flying. When you are at full speed you can trim a bit harder to get the top telltale to stall. In light air with lump conditions open this up a bit, maybe have the top batten 5 degrees open and always let the top telltale fly 50% off the time. In heavier air as we depower we will again allow the top to open and the top telltale will always be flying.

Mainsail Trim / Traveler

Keep the boom on centerline until you have to depower. In light air we pull the traveler all the way to weather and adjust the sheet to keep the boom on centerline. Progressively lowering the traveler as the breeze build to balance the helm and heal of the boat. We never drop the traveler below the leeward seat.

Mainsail Trim / Backstay

This is not the quickest tool on your boat so we will have to use it as a general trim adjuster. Make sure you have a batten taped to the cylinder to record your settings for the next beat. In light air keep it just loaded with the slack out.  If your mast is set correctly you should not invert the main, which you will see by wrinkles forming from the clew up towards the middle luff. If this appears, your mast butt may be too far aft.  Make sure to tighten cunningham as you use heavy backstay to keep the draft forward in the sail.

Mainsail Trim / Outhaul

In light air we have the outhaul eased about one inch in flat water and 2 in lump. Once the crew is fully hiking we tighten just to close the shelf foot.  In heavy air crank it hard.

Mainsail Trim / Vang We never really use the vang upwind. In very light air you might have to have a little tension to not over twist the leech, but the rest of the time, while sailing upwind, we have the vang control just slack.

Mainsail Trim / Leech & Foot Lines

Only use these to remove flutter and remember as the breeze lightens ease them off.

Jib Trim / Jib Halyard

The jib halyard is very important and frequently forgotten on these furling boats. Unlike the main, the halyard will not have a s large effect on the draft of the sail. It is pretty fixed on a laminate sail. In light air ease the halyard until you have noticeable wrinkles in the luff. This will move the draft aft and increase fullness for power. As the breeze builds, increase halyard tension, to, just, remove the wrinkles, until very firm in the heaviest wind. Equally important is to release the tension if the wind drops.

Jib Trim / Jib Lead

Set the jib lead to have 9 track holes showing in front of the car. This is your base position. Mark the track at this point. When I go to the medium tune I will go back 1 hole on the lead. As the breeze builds we move the lead aft through a range of about 6 holes from light to heavy air. The jib lead is an effective method to depower. If I am caught at the top of a tuning range and the boat has too much helm, I will move the lead car aft along with tightening backstay, lowering traveler and tighten the halyards.

Jib Trim / Jib Sheet

In light air I trim to the leeward cabin top winch and in heavy air I cross sheet to the large primary winch. Run the sheet through the top check block for a better lead to the primary winch.  Your new Doyle Jib will have leech telltales. Trim the sheet until the top leech telltale just has a hint of break (10%). This is my base upwind trim position. This will also put the leech of the jib between 2 and 4 inches in front the lower spreader tip. Out of a tack or in slow speed conditions ease the sail to the spreader tip. When up to full speed in flat water we will trim a bit tighter to have the telltale breaking 25% of the time. To cross sheet you need to mark your jib sheets. I put a series of 4 marks,  on my jib sheets between 17 and 18 feet from the clew end of the sheet. I will use this as a trim guide while cross sheeting to the large primary winches, in breeze. These marks will be right at the weather winch and will allow repeatable settings from tack to tack without having to go down to the low side. For cross sheeting: the jib trimmer will tack the sail and grind it in to the conditions base setting, with the leech at the spreader tip. The main trimmer will then handle the fine tune trim.

Jib Trim / Jib Inhauling

I rarely use any inhaul. At best, in perfect conditions, we might just tighten the lazy sheet to pull the clew over the track, about 2 inches maximum. Any more just seems to stop.

Downwind Sailing / Mainsheet

Make sure to ease the main out enough as you go downwind. In light air you will sail higher angles and have it in more and as the breeze build you will ease it out.  I usually have a knot in my mainsheet at the maximum out position (boom just off the shrouds) so the driver can uncleat the main around the weather mark and let it run. In very heavy air only ease the sheet to put the boom out 45 degrees and adjust the vang to control the leech twist.  This makes jibing the boom much easier. You might also try pumping the vang, rather than the sheet, to help the boat surf down waves.

Downwind Sailing / Backstay, Outhaul & Vang

Ease the tension off the backstay and lock. I don’t like the backstay eased to the point of the cylinder flopping around.  In light to moderate air ease the outhaul until the foot of the sail is about 3 inches from the boom. I do not ease it in windy conditions. Adjust the vang to keep the top batten parallel to the boom in the lulls. Make sure to remember your halyard, backstay and outhaul settings for the next upwind.

Downwind Sailing / Spinnaker Sheet

Trim the sail to always have a slight curl in the luff (about 6-12 inches). Pay attention to the load on the sheet. When you get too far off the wind, pressure on sheet will immediately drop. A good trimmer will constantly communicate with the driver regarding the amount of load on the sheet.

Downwind Sailing / Tack Line

Adjust the tackline to keep the curl just above the middle of the luff. If it breaks high lower the tack, if the break is at the bottom raise the tack. Average tack heights:

under 8 knots / 0 inches 8-10 knots  / 6 inches 10-15 knots / 1 foot 15+ knots / 2 feet

Sailing Tips & Tricks

Upwind / Pointing

Go fast forward, never try to pinch a J105, it just stops. Better boatspeed through the water will help the keel and rudder provide lift and reduce leeway. Although your angle might not be as high the boat will be making less leeway and effectively sailing higher overall.

Upwind / Trim Fore and Aft

Keep the crew weight centered. In light air we have one crew in front of the shrouds. As soon as we are all hiking we have the crew aft of the shrouds and grouped together as much as possible. Downwind / VMG

When the tack line is eased and we are in running mode, I will steer to keep the tack line vertical. If it tips to leeward, I will head down and if it tips to weather I will head up to keep the tack line straight up and down. This will keep you very close to the perfect VMG downwind.

Downwind / Running Deep

The trimmer should always be easing the sheet to get the sail to rotate out in front of the boat. It is a common mistake to have the sail over trimmed and not rotated properly. Look around at the spinnakers on the boats close to you, if you are having speed problems, and try to match the trim of the fast ones.

Jib Halyard 95 ft  10mm Spectra DB (double braid) with eye splice attached directly to furler swivel shackle

Main Halyard 105 ft 10mm Spectra DB with headboard shackle

Spinnaker Halyard 105 ft 8mm Spectra with medium flush style snap shackle.

Mainsheet 85 ft 10mm Soft Spectra Braid with low friction ring for 20 ft 8mm 2-1 fine tune

Jib Sheets 45 ft each 10mm Spectra DB with eyes and soft shackle.

Mark sheet between 17 and 18 ft every 4inches for cross sheeting reference.

Spin Sheets 70 ft each 8mm Spectra DB with eyes. Use 12inch 6mm pigtail on every spinnaker clew and bowline to sheets.

Tack Line 40 ft 8mm Spectra DB with optional eye and soft shackle. I bowline mine.

Misc:  Traveler 30 ft 8mm, Reef 20 ft 6mm, Pole 35 ft 8mm low stretch yacht braid.

Contact Paul Beaudin for onsite clinics and racing talks.

• Annapolis Sailboat Show
• New Products

Truspar Laser Mast Tuning System

New revolutionary sailboat mast tuning system. The Truspar Laser Mast Alignment System uses a plumb vertical laser beam projected reference light up the mainsail mast track.

“Sailmakers agree that a well tuned mast enhances the overall performance of the mast and the sails”

By just adjusting the shrouds port to starboard in order to align the mainsail track centered on the projected visual beam the entire height of the mast.

Once this has been accomplished, the mast is now true and plumb in the boat. Finish the tuning by again unsinging the visual laser beam as a reference while adjusting the rig shrouds using a tension gauge. Now your rig is straight in your boat and has the proper support tension on the shrouds. This is an easy and simple way for any type of sailor to ensure they are getting the optimum performance from their mast and their sails.

Truspar & Mast-Rite are patent pending products of The Architects Service Group, LLC Marine Division-USA

Visit Truspar at Tent L-11

Tickets are on sale now!

Home  News  Tuning for Performance

Tuning for Performance

Get a good understanding of the importance and methods of tuning your one design and your results will surely improve.

By Chris Snow

“You must always be faster and better than the others.” ~ Niki Lauda

I like watching F1 (Formula 1) auto racing on TV. The exotic locations and the technology of the cars fascinates me. Often, the TV will show shots of the crew chiefs and their teams sitting at banks of computer displays monitoring the performance and set up of their cars. These engineers are monitoring things like tire pressure, down force, differential lock, brake pressure and temperature, toe and camber among many other things. They are monitoring anything that will contribute to getting their car across the line first when the race ends.

Like F1, our sport of sailboat racing is wonderfully complex. When racing we deal with: wind and weather, getting a good start, executing tactics, building a team and motivating it to sail well, prepping the boat, feeding the team and the list goes on and on. Good boat speed wins races and in order to have good boat speed your boat (like an F1 car) must be set up to perform. A good basic understanding of sailboat tuning for speed is essential. In the following paragraphs, I’ll give you a good overview of sailboat tuning and how to make your boat perform.

Like a race car, your sailboat has many settings that can be adjusted to affect its performance. Having a solid understanding of the big ones and how they change sailing characteristics puts you on strong footing when competing. The ability to make set up changes to your boat on the fly as conditions change is critical to overall success and a skill most top sailors have developed over the years.

The importance of mast rake and helm

The “helm” of your boat refers to the amount of pull or push on the tiller or wheel when your boat is sheeted in and sailing upwind. Your goal when tuning your boat is to make the helm either neutral or very slight windward helm. Windward helm is the condition that describes when you let go of the tiller or wheel the boat wants to head up into the wind. It is possible for a boat to have leeward helm. This is when the boat bears away from the wind when you let go of the steering. Since sailing upwind with the rudder at any angle offset to the centerline of the boat is added drag our goal is to try and get the helm as neutral as possible.

What determines the helm of your boat? Simply the location of two things in relation to each other. The center of effort (CE) of your sail plan is the exact center of the area of main and headsail (if you have one). The center of lateral resistance (CLR) is essentially the center of the underwater part of your boat including the keel (or centerboard) and rudder. When these two are aligned perfectly on top of each other the boat will have neutral helm. If the CE is aft of the CLR the boat will have windward helm. If the CE is forward of the CLR. The boat will have leeward helm. See Figure 1 for a visual.

Figure 1 – Helm increases with more rake and decreases with less.

If you have ever sailed or attempted to sail a windsurfer you will have experienced first-hand the effect of mast rake. Since a windsurfer does not have a rudder the board must be steered by changing the rake of the mast. If you want to head up into the wind you lean the mast aft. To bear away, you lean the mast forward. Figure 2. shows US Sailing Team windsurfer Pedro Pascual leaning his sail forward in order to bear his board away from the wind.

Figure 2 – US Sailing Team’s Pedro Pascual leans his rig forward to bear off. Photo from Sailing Energy.

The rake or angle that your mast sits in your boat when sailing determines the helm. In order to change the helm there are only two things you can change. First is the length of the forestay, a longer forestay increases rake and helm. A shorter forestay decreases rake and therefore reduces helm.

The other thing that you can change, keep in mind all changes must comply with your class’s rules, is the overall length of the mast.  Assuming the head stay length stays the same shortening the mast will increase rake in the mast, lengthening the mast will have to opposite effect. A popular boat where is it often necessary to shorten the mast to increase rake is the J/24. The J/24 rules have a maximum forestay length which unless the stock mast is not shortened to minimum cannot be made long enough to give the boat neutral helm. All top J/24s these days have a maximum length forestay and minimum length mast just to get the helm correct.

The importance of shroud tension and spreader angle

After setting the mast rake so the CE and CLR are over each other, the next things that are easily adjustable is the tension on the shrouds (side stays) and the angle of the spreaders. Depending on the type of boat you are sailing you will have anywhere from a single set of shrouds and spreaders up perhaps four set of shrouds and two to three sets of spreaders. Before we get into what adjusting the shrouds and spreaders does let’s talk a little about how your sails get their shape.

All sails get shape from a combination of broadseam and luff curve . Broadseam is the amount of shape that is put into the seams between each pair of panels in your sail. A fuller sail will have more broadseaming and the flatter sail less. Sails also get their shape from luff curve. Luff curve is the amount of curvature added to the front of the sail beyond a straight line drawn from the head to the tack. When you raise your sail on a mast that is straighter than the amount of luff curve cut into it the difference between the luff curve and the bend of your mast is pushed back into the sail to add shape to it. All mainsails have some degree of positive luff curve. Most jibs actually have a negative luff curve because rather than bending forward in the middle like the mast the headstay sags back towards the mast while sailing. Figures 3 and 4 show the effect of mast bend on mainsail shape. The photo in Figure 5 shows the effect of more or less forestay sag.

Figure 3 – Bending the mast flattens the mainsail.

Figure 4 – Change in sail shape with straight and bent mast.

Figure 5 – Tightening forestay flattens sail. Looser makes sail fuller.

As we can see, the amount that our mast bends and our forestay is sagged or straight controls directly the shape of our sails. The two things that control mast bend and forestay sag are spreader angle and shroud tension.

Spreader angle, or the amount that the spreaders sweep back from the side of the mast controls how much or little your mast will ultimately bend. More angle means more bend and vice versa.

Figure 6 – Measuring Spreader angle.

Shroud tension is adjusted depending on the conditions. In most cases your shrouds should be tighter the more wind there is. Using a combination of increasing shroud tension (which compresses the mast and adds bend) and the correct spreader angle for your boat you can increase the tension on the forestay and flatten both the mainsail and headsail as the breeze builds, reducing power and making the boat easier to sail. Conversely as the wind drops, easing off on the shrouds will power up the sails by straightening the mast and sagging the forestay giving you more oomph in lighter winds.  The diagram here gives an idea of how the shrouds, mast and forestay interact.

Figure 7 – How the shrouds, forestay and mast interact.

Figure 8 – Checking prebend on a Snipe with the main halyard held tight and to the gooseneck

A note on prebend

As soon as you start on tuning your boat you will hear the term “prebend” often. Prebend is the static bend in the mast created by a certain shroud tension and spreader angle. It is important because it gives up a baseline check on all our tuning settings. Prebend is checked with the shroud tension set and by holding the main halyard to the gooseneck and seeing how much forward to straight the middle of the mast is. All good sailmakers will specify a base setting for all adjustments and a certain amount of prebend. You can be sure that if the prebend is not a specified amount one of your settings is not correct.

Tuning guides

All the major one-design sailmakers provide tuning guides for their sails. These essentially are cookbooks for how to tune your boat for their sails across the range of conditions. I recommend starting using these settings. The setting in these guides are developed from days of on the water experimentation and input from the best sailors working with that sailmaker. A good tuning guide with provide a “quick tune” chart like the one here so you can easily see what settings you should be using for a particular condition.

Figure 9 – North Sails quick guide for the J/70 gives important settings from below 6 knots to over 22 knots. Courtesy North Sails.

Putting it all together

When you are ready to tune your boat you’ll want to get some tools together. Here is a suggested list:

• Tension gauge – choose the same one that your tuning guide uses.
• Permanent marker – helpful for marking halyards and direction turnbuckles tighten.
• Tape measure – Use a no stretch one that is long enough for measuring your mast rake.
• Electrical tape – Good for taping cotter pins and ring dings
• Lubricant for turnbuckles – Be sure your turnbuckles are lubed to be able to adjust easily.
• Rig adjusting tools – Whatever tools are needed to adjust your shrouds.
• Tuning guide – Be sure to have this on hand and read thoroughly before starting.
• Waterproof notebook – For noting any setting changes not in the tuning guide.

Figure 10 – Some items needed for tuning, tools, lube and a good tuning guide.

I highly recommend starting with your sailmaker’s tuning guide. Read it thoroughly before starting and even call to ask questions if there is some part of the process you do not understand. Most sailmakers love to talk tuning. One you have gotten familiar and sailed with the settings in the tuning guide you can experiment on your own by tweaking one setting at a time to come up with the optimal settings for your boat.

Figure 11 – Attaching tape measure to end of main halyard to measure rake.

Figure 12 – Measuring mast rake with halyard hoisted and attached to a tape measure.

The author Chris Snow is a professional sailor and coach living in San Diego, Calif. He was formerly the One Design Manager for North Sails in North America. To engage Chris’s services individually or for your group or club please e-mail him at [email protected] . You can learn more about Chris and get some more sailing tips at his website www.thefavoredend.com .

For more stories and resources for one design sailors, visit US Sailing’s One Design Central !

Copyright ©2018-2024 United States Sailing Association. All rights reserved. US Sailing is a 501(c)3 organization. Website designed & developed by Design Principles, Inc. -->

Sign-Up for News & Stories

Stephens Waring Yacht Design

Spirit of Tradition Yachts Designed In Maine

Home » News » Construction » 39-ft S/Y WISP Launches and Heads South

39-ft S/Y WISP Launches and Heads South

Posted on September 17, 2024 and filed under Construction , Design , Spirit of Tradition , SWD News & Stories

39-ft S/Y WISP hit the water after a compressed build time of less than a year. Photo credit: Alison Langley

On August 5, our latest design, WISP, was gently lowered into the harbor in Camden, Maine. The 39-footer is the most recent in a string of luxurious daysailer/weekenders we’ve designed over the last couple of decades. She was designed to be beautiful, comfortable, easy-to-sail, and fast—and by the end of that week in August we were able to see how we did on all counts.

While packing plenty of performance under sail, Wisp effortlessly transforms into a luxury weekender, featuring saloon seating for four and a queen-size forward berth. Photo credit: Alison Langley

WISP hit the water after a compressed build time of less than a year, and that last week was key in pulling all the details together. Lots of last-minute details in systems and rigging took place in a well-choreographed rush orchestrated by Alec Brainerd, founder of Artisan Boatworks , as the goal of sea trials loomed Thursday morning. Step the mast, tune the rig, bend on sails, commission the engine, electrics, and hydraulic system…. Details seemed endless, but by midday Thursday we were casting off lines and heading out to see how she sailed.

  With crimson cushions and backrests in place, we began to test the luxury of the cockpit even before sails were unrolled—with owners, builder, designer, and reps from sailmaker North Sails , spar—builder Moore Brothers , and Ransom Morse, hydraulics genius, we were testing the capacity of the 13-foot-long cockpit. The cockpit was laid out to provide a generous lounge area forward and sail-handling focus aft at the helm, and easily met the challenge of eight people aboard.

On deck, WISP offers a sophisticated, dual-purpose cockpit: a plush, upholstered area for lounging forward and a dedicated sailing zone aft. Thanks to a design that marries functional ergonomics with classic aesthetics, the helmsperson enjoys easy access to all sailing controls without leaving the wheel. Photo credit: Alison Langley

The day was clear and warm, with a gentle sea breeze building. We tuned the electrically-furling mainsail to mate the mandrel to the winch, then hoisted full main and unrolled the working jib. We’d designed the sial plan to provide really easy handling and plenty of area for lighter breezes, common in her home port in western Long Island Sound, so the six knots true wind was a perfect test bed. Dialing in the sail trim and sheet positions, we quickly found WISP’s groove, and soon were sailing upwind at about 26 degrees apparent and boat speed of 5.9 knots—calling that a win! After trying a couple of tacks we cracked off to a beam reach and unrolled the MPS, and speed jumped to 8 knots in 8 knots true.

These few minutes of sailing would be all her designer would experience, as a tropical depression rolled through the next day, and by the following Monday, she was headed south and west to her owner’s mooring in western Connecticut. But before she shoved off, we were blessed with a gorgeous Saturday afternoon photo-shoot opportunity on the tail-end of the storm, with strong breezes and priceless clouds to form a backdrop to the Camden Hills as master marine photographer Alison Langley  plied her craft. Here are a few of the gems she captured—enjoy!

Related Articles:

7 Trends in Sailing Yacht Interior Design

Impracticality In Its Most Beautiful Form: 53-ft Beaujolais

site by: slickfish studios