Should the rig be de-tuned for the winter

[Disailor]

1st time my 33 Morgan OI is on the hard for the winter (Maine, USA) with the mast standing. My question is should I loosen the shroud/stay rigging screws? & by how much?

[Sparx]

During storage I think loosening the stays that transmit tension to the the hill is a good practice. Loosening the forestay is all that is required on many boats, but take a close look at yours to confirm what is true for your boat.

On my Selden mast the stays are just barely slack when the boat is at rest. No loosening is required. This may be peculiar to the way my catamaran is rigged.

[Disailor]

Thanx, Sparx
DC

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by Disailor

1st time my 33 Morgan OI is on the hard for the winter (Maine, USA) with the mast standing. My question is should I loosen the shroud/stay rigging screws? & by how much?

I wouldn’t recommend it....but...to each his own. I do recommend tuning your rig with a Loos gage. It’s tension readings are objective not subjective.

[AKA-None]

I use and believe in a loos gushed but then my mast comes down every winter

[Dockhead]

I would be concerned about cyclical loads damaging the rig if it were slacked off. Less of a concern on the hard than in the water, where the boat will be moving around, but I would ask a professional about this and not just do it.

[Sailor 99]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I would be concerned about cyclical loads damaging the rig if it were slacked off. Less of a concern on the hard than in the water, where the boat will be moving around, but I would ask a professional about this and not just do it.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^.



Bad idea I think. The rig starts vibrating, loads coming off then slamming on and off and on Think about that happening ever 15 -30 second in a big storm.



Don't think that your going to loose it off enough to stop the slamming either.



We pulled a mast off a Swan 47 in a 30 knot cross wind that we were protected from by the trees but the top of the mast was not. When we had all the shrouds off before we lifted it out of the mast foot, the mast head was 10 to 18 inches off column. That is a big heavy mast too.

[rosatte]

We stored our boat for 10 yrs on the hard and never slackened the rig doesn’t make any sense to do this ,, do boats down south sitting in the water yr round loosen their rigs ,,no

[Siberian Sea]

I wouldn’t do it if my boat was to be stored in a location subject to big winter storms or even worst a cyclone. The wind force applied to your standing mast with loose standing rigging might be a recipe for mast damage or total failure

[henryv]

To some degree the rig eases tension on it's own since the coefficient of thermal expansion for aluminum is greater than that for steel. Accordingly the mast will shrink a little more than the shrouds as the temperature drops. The changes will be very slight and not enough to be of concern. I think it is best to leave the rigging as is for winter.

[hamburking]

The low temps (winter) causes the standing rigging to contract. Since most standing rigging is twisted SS cable, the effect of contraction is increased...the individual strands are much longer than the actual stay...so the effect is amplified as long strands contract, the cable becomes shorter. Solid rod rigging still contracts, but is not prone to this effect.

by "contract" I mean "get shorter".

Of course the mast contracts too...but the stays are longer, and a different material.

I ease my standing rigging...a little. This takes the edge off the tension, and allows some contraction without causing damage (IMHO). At the same time, you still want good support for the mast during big winds in winter. But keep in mind, the mast and rig were designed to support big sails...and you have just a bare pole exposed. The real concern is vibration...pumping. If you are lucky, the mast is at a sufficient angle to the prevailing wind, or in a protected lee, that pumping won't be an issue. And a couple turns on each stay gives you an opportunity to inspect all the turnbuckles and replace the mousing.

Obviously, the best solution is to take the mast down. That has its own issues...my mast was damaged while in storage (whole nother story), and I've seen fittings and turnbuckles bent/torn off during stepping/unstepping.

So my solution...ease the rig a little. like 2 turns on each turnbuckle.

I also agree with the comments regarding the LOOS gauge...take the guesswork out of tuning.

IMHO, the greatest damage comes from halyards slapping the mast all winter. I lead all my halyards, lifts, etc, to the toe rail.

It pains me to see boats who leave the boom on all winter, complete with sail and sailcover.

And keep in mind that the hull "sags" as well, when hauled. When floating, buoyancy pushes the ends (bow and stern) UP. On the hard, they sag down due to their weight. And the fore and back stays hold them up...increasing the tension immediately when the boat is hauled out. Another reason to ease the tension a bit. When you think about it...hauling a boat creates the OPPOSITE stresses on the hull. The keel usually HANGS from the boat, but suddenly is pushing UP...hard. The whole contraption is like a bow and arrow, and every part effects every other part. The beauty of a small boat is its stiffness. The bigger the boat, the more flexible, and the greater the forces and stresses.

The part that "gives" (gets destroyed) is often the mast step. As tension increases, the step is crushed. This is really bad if the mast is deck stepped.

[Mike OReilly]

I've never de-tuned my rig when storing upright over the winter. Some years I take the rig down, but otherwise it stays up, and fully tuned.

My sense is as others have said, that a slackened rig could actually be more dangerous than a properly tensioned one. Better not to have mast and stays moving at all in the wintery winds.

[contrail]

Ask the professionals, riggers, mast manufacturers, surveyors, boatyards?

[sailcrazy]

We "summer over" in Puerto Rico each season-from May-Nov, which is the hurricane season! We do take down our sails, halyards (leave rat lines inplace), canvas, and everything off the rail. But we leave the standing rig alone. So far-3 hurricanes and a couple of really good thunderstorms-and no damage to the rig or boat! Same process when we wintered over in the Medd-and again no damage! If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[CarinaPDX]

The practice of slacking the rig in the winter dates back to the days of wooden masts: wood doesn't change length with the seasons (just width) so the contracting steel rig would increase the loads in winter. It might still be a good idea for carbon fiber masts - I don't know the TCE for carbon fiber. But as others have said the TCE for aluminum is greater than steel so if anything the rig will get looser. Being vertical and in the wind the stepped mast should have proper rigging support. In other words leave it alone and find something necessary to do...

Greg