Loose shrouds on V2-22

[ChockFullOnuts22]

I have a fully "stock" '72 Venture 2-22. This season, I have noticed that my shroud lines are fairly loose. As far as I know, these are still the original shrouds (except for the forestay, which was replaced in the '80s).

I have a turnbuckle on the forestay and the factory "adjusters" (look like perforated brackets) on the sidestays and aftstay. In the past, both my dad and myself have taken the slack out of the shrouds by just adjusting the turnbuckle on the forestay. Now, however, all of the adjustment in the turnbuckle is used up.

Does this mean that I have to replace all of the shrouds, or is there a way to take up the slack? Has anyone ever had shroud lines stretch like that?

[smoyer]

If you're only adjusting at the forestay, won't you be changing the rake of the mast and therefore the COE? I have a '72 V21 with the fractional rig and a PO had replaced the side shroud adjusters with turnbuckles, so it's pretty easy to adjust everything so it's tight AND has the correct mast rake. Curiously, I have the perforated adjuster on the forestay.

After a moment more thought, why not loosen the forestay, take up another notch (or more) on the shroud and backstay adjusters then retighten the forestay. That would start pulling your rake back where it belongs.

[Kelly Hanson East]

I doubt your shrouds are stretching enough to make this difference. Inspect your chainplates carefully to make sure they arent getting loose or the hull is deflecting or something ugly like that..this would be very unusual.

I suggest as above, tighten those shroud adjusters and see it that takes care of it..

[ChockFullOnuts22]

I'll be going up to the boat tonight, so I'll try something with the adjusters and see what happens. What worries me is that I know that I never ran out of adjustment on the forestay before. I might end up dropping the mast to inspect the upper forestay "mount" to check for a bent bolt or something.

I've checked the chainplates and they look good. Hull looks nice and straight, too. The compression post shows no signs of damage or warping.

How would I check the rake on the mast to be sure it's correct, and that my adjustments don't mess it up? Does anyone know what the correct rake is on a '72 V2-22?

[Hamin' X]

Proper mast rake is largely determined by trial-and-error. Ideally, when sailing on a close reach, you should have a slight bit of weather helm. This means that you are having to hold the tiller toward the wind, to steer the boat away from the wind. This weather helm is a safety valve. If you should become over powered, the boat will tend to round-up into the wind, instead of being knocked down.

To increase weather helm, rake the mast aft. To decrease, rake forward. This is assuming that you are sailing with the proper amount of main and foresail and that you have the proper trim.

~Rich

[Scott]

Yes it is common on older boats to use up standing rigging through stretch.

With a deck stepped mast it can be corrected by cutting a block of aluminum the same footprint as your deckplate. bolt all the way through it in the same pattern as your mast step and use longer bolts.

Common fix.

[ChockFullOnuts22]

Ah, ok...the rake must be correct as it stands now, then. The boat rounds up very nicely in the wind, and I wouldn't want to mess with that. I've had a couple of emergency situations with sudden gusts where that weather helm helped keep us in the boat and out of the lake. Thanks for clarifying that for me!

For tonight, I'll just have to see if I can take the slack out of the sidestays using the perforated adjusters without pulling the mast backwards on its rake.

I had considered something similar to the aluminum block idea that Scott mentioned above, but I'd like to avoid that if I can. The best thing to do is probably to upgrade the Venture to some turnbuckle adjusters on the sidestays and backstay, instead. In which case, that will be a project for next season.

[Hamin' X]

Be sure to maintain the side-to-side alignment, when adjusting the shrouds. Also, the upper shrouds should be slightly tighter than the lowers. The shrouds should good and firm to the feel, but you should not be able to pluck them and hear a musical note. Hint: When close hauled in 15+ kt winds, the leeward shrouds will lose tension, but should not be slack, as this will induce shock loading while tacking.

~Rich

[ChockFullOnuts22]

That's part of the problem; in 8-10mph winds, the leeward shrouds go slack. I don't hear or feel the mast "slam" from side to side, but it's close to being able to allow that sort of movement. These are way too loose.