MacGregorSailors.com

Newell wrote:

vkmaynard wrote:Buy the best Loos gauge (PT1) for 5/32" wire from Online Marine for $88 delivered: http://www.onlinemarine.com/cgi-local/S ... 1180680787. It is more accurate and clamps on the wire, hands free.

Found nothing at this address. 88$ sounds good but can't find.

Wow this thread is from 2010. Here's another link for you.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... &id=155885

That's the big one that is not real accurate unless you have a real big boat.

That's the same model I have, and the readings are near mid-scale on that one, so it's quite suitable and accurate for our Macs. For 3/32", 1/8", and 5/32" dia cable.
-Brian.

(Edit: to confirm it's the PT-1 in trd's link I'm talking about here).

BOAT wrote:That's the big one that is not real accurate unless you have a real big boat.

Nope, The PT1 is the correct model for our boats. BIgger boats would have heavier stays than 5/32". Its on sale for 4 days at defender.

Designed and tested to provide an accuracy of plus or minus 3% at midrange.

This model: cable size- 3/32" to 5/32"

Higher accuracy and easier to use than standard models. The cable can be adjusted while the gauge remains on the cable - "Just watch the pointer move."

I just ordered one. This is one of the jobs I want to do when the snow melts. I don't think the PO ever adjusted the riggging, so it's something that really needs to be done.

May i please have a quick recap of what 26x tensions should be? I just ordered the gauge and have seen many posts through this thread talk about different numbers. Basically im shooting for 300 upper and 220 lower right?

thanks

Loos PT-1 on Amazon is $90, prime eligable

Friends, I have really appreciated this (long-term) discussion and have found it to be immensely helpful. But it also prompts more questions: (1) VKMaynard wrote: " I found that on the final adjustment, slightly less than 1/2 of a hole . . ." I must be missing something, because I don't see how you make a shroud chainplate adjustment that's "less than 1/2 of a hole". Because of this discussion, I may get a Loos gauge and adjust as recommended here. Until now I have simply adjusted the four shrouds as snug as seems reasonable per the M owner's manual. In doing so, I found that while one hole was too loose, the very next hole would be too tight and force an undesirable bend in my mast, so I backed off one hole, leaving the shroud less than ideally snug. ( Perhaps, this was because I may have been adjusting them out of proper sequence.) In any event, I am asking what we do when neither of two adjacent holes results in the optimum tension. (2) The issue of mast "rake" is somewhat confusing. The Mac"M" owner's manual doesn't use the word "rake", but says it should be "tilted to the rear" such that there is 156" from the hole for the mast raiser to the very top of the front rail on the bow. It also says that the CENTER of the mast should have about a 1" forward "bow" at the middle. It doesn't say how either of these is to be accomplished. The manual implies that if the shrouds are properly tensioned, that recommended "tilt" and "bow" will both automatically occur. But there is no reference to a 2" or a 2 and 1/2" rake that I believe were recommended here. Again here, I don't recall reading how anyone accomplished such a rake if it doesn't automatically occur when tuning the tension on the shrouds. Any comments will be most welcome. Thanks!

Along this line. I raised my mast for the first time since I bought my 26x and the front stay is about 3 inches too short to tie down. The mast seems to have a slight bow/bend aftward. one of the upper stays is loose as well. After reading this post, I guess I'll be buying a tension gauge. My bigger concern is the short forestay and bend in the mast. I was thinking of tying a rope to the top of the mast and winching the rope to be able to attach the forestay and remove the bow. Any recommendations or suggestions would be appreciated. And thanks in advance

How are you raising the mast? Are you using a gin pole or other mechanical means, or are you just putting it up by hand?

I must be missing something, because I don't see how you make a shroud chainplate adjustment that's "less than 1/2 of a hole

It's obvious to someone who has been doing it for years, of course.

I'll call the part of the adjuster attached to the shroud the shroud tang, and the other part of the adjuster the vernier plate.


A "full hole" adjustment is defined as removing the pin , then moving the hole the pin was in on the shroud tang to the next open hole on the vernier plate, that is to say the hole the pin was just in slides down to the next open hole.

The trick with these adjusters is that the holes are not evenly spaced, so before you get that original hole slid down to the next open hole, you will see a bunch of the other holes lining up with different holes along the way. This gives you the possibility of less than the "full hole" motion described. A full hole of motion is a lot of tension, so you need the "less than full hole" to get the rigging right.

So, what is the calculation to determine how high up the mast one installs a new connection point from the original? If the Johnson Lever increases the length of the forestay by 8 inches, how far up the mast does one establish the new connection point?

Fair winds,
Jim

And just for completeness, with the slider (MacGregor's term for the single tang, or male part) holes spaced at 5/8" OC, and the channel (MacGregor's term for the double, or female part) holes spaced at 1/2" OC, you get vernier steps of 1/8". That's pretty small.

Holes are 9/32" diameter, and pins are 1/4". Half a hole is approximately 1/8", which is the finest resolution you can get with these, perhaps not so coincidentally.

Captain Jim wrote:So, what is the calculation to determine how high up the mast one installs a new connection point from the original? If the Johnson Lever increases the length of the forestay by 8 inches, how far up the mast does one establish the new connection point?

Using I=23 ft and J=9.67 ft, and adding 8" to the hypotenuse, I get about 8-9/16" higher on the mast for an 8" stay length increase.

But someone should check my math, especially since I did it in my head and with a calculator, so I might have dropped something along the way.

length of the forestay by 8 inches, how far up the mast does one establish the new connection point? [/quote]
Using I=23 ft and J=9.67 ft, and adding 8" to the hypotenuse, I get about 8-9/16" higher on the mast for an 8" stay length increase.

But someone should check my math, especially since I did it in my head and with a calculator, so I might have dropped something along the way. [/quote]

To use the same mounting hole on the mast, how much should the forestay be shortened, 8-9/16?