I'm new to sailing and I recently purchase a 26M. It came with a Furling Genoa but I can't work out how that fixes to the top of the mast.... Can anyone post me a photo of the top of their 26M mast where the Genoa attaches?
Also, I have no Forestay line/wire ...Does one still need to be attached even with the Genoa attached?
Please reply in basic mechanical english as I not so good with all the sailing terms yet
You won't need a separate forestay. The forward stay is an integral part of the furling Genoa. You'll see in the booklet (page 5) the mounting of the forestay and upper shrouds. While the booklet doesn't refer to the furling setup, your upper attachment points should look exactly the same as pictured.
Your forestay will run the length of a grey semi-rigid moulded plastic assembly that runs the length of the stay and around which the genoa wraps when furled.
Yes I have that manual and if I'm reading your post correctly there should be an upper shroud near the top of the mast too?....So 3 shrouds (lower, mid and upper) in total..... If this is correct I am missing that top shroud on my mast. ....Oddly, right near the top there's a hole one side of the mast (where I'm guessing the long bolt should go through) but there I can't see a hole on the other side?? .... So now I'm even more confused lol!
Looked at some youtube videos and I just realized something.... The Genoa does not mount near the top of the mast. More like 3/4 of the way up.... I think I need to take another look at my mast in the daylight
Last edited by Neo on Sun May 03, 2015 12:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Neo, the forestay does not mount at the top of the mast...it mounts where the upper shrouds mount. This is known as a "fractional rig", where the jib or Genoa are affixed below the top of the mast. So you should have a single forestay up front and two shrouds either side (upper and lower).
So you'll have nothing at the very top of the mast apart from the block (pulley) for the mainsail halyard, and maybe a topping-lift (a line that holds up the boom when the mainsail is down).
It's a fractional rig, as opposed to a masthead rig. The forestay does not go to the top of the mast. The fraction of the mast from base to hound is used to describe the rig, such as a 3/4 or 7/8 fractional rig. I don't know what the M has, but its mast is taller than the X while using the same fore sails, so presumably it's a smaller fraction.
Neo wrote:Yes I have that manual and if I'm reading your post correctly there should be an upper shroud near the top of the mast too?....So 3 shrouds (lower, mid and upper) in total.....
3 sets of shrouds? Is it possible that what you're calling "lower shrouds" are really the temporary baby stays used while stepping/unstepping the mast?
....Oddly, right near the top there's a hole one side of the mast (where I'm guessing the long bolt should go through) but there I can't see a hole on the other side?? .... So now I'm even more confused lol! 
were talking about Mmm 