|
Category 1: RIG
(Sails, spars, blocks, winches, ground tackle)
These items are submitted by Tartan 37 owners for information only. Your use of a procedure , product or process described in this section is at your discretion, and results are not guaranteed to be to your satisfaction. |
|
|
SPARTITE INSTALLATION
-- From Tom & Sandy Wells, #224 HIGHER PORPOISE: Are you tired of water intrusion at the partners? We had some no matter what we did, and the rubber wedges needed replacing. We installed a SparTite kit, and it works as advertised. It takes the place of the wedges and seals at the partners completely. If you install this product, there are a few things to watch. They provide you with clay to make a "dam" in the gap between the mast and partners. The problem becomes how to suppot the mast in its proper position and work the dam into place at the same time. We supported the mast from below using temporary short wooden wedges. We then worked as a team, one on deck and one below, and used pieces of wood shaped to fit the gap. The wood pieces had flat ends so we could apply pressure to the clay from above and below. This procedure was time consuming, but it made for a neat installation. Once the SparTite had cured, we removed the temporary wedges and dug out the clay dam. Try to get as much of the clay out as youcan, or you will find it on your cabin sole on the first hot day. Summary? SparTite is a great product, and we recommend it to other T37 owners.
ADJUSTING THE RIG
- This excellent explanation of rig adjustment comes from Ray Lanza, who owns one of our Tartan sisters, T3500 #77, TENACIOUS.
First, measure back from the headstay to a point on or near the rail opposite from the base of the mast. Mark this spot on both sides of the boat. Most people are tempted to use a stanchion base in the right area but sometimes they are not symmetrical. This mark will be used to center the tip os the mast (port/starboard). Remove tension from the topping lift, if you have one. If you have a solid vang you won't need to do anything.
Next, loosen the backstay and all the shrouds so that everything is completely slack. you can make the adjustments without loosening the headstay, which is even more important if you have a furler.
Look at the mast partners and check that the mast is centered (Port/Starboard). If not, adjust the chocks and get it centered.
The T37 has a tension rod in the cabin. The force on the mast pushes down on the keel step, while the force on the shrouds and stays pulls up on the sides and ends of the boat. The rod transfers some of the downward force to the partners and to the cabin top, thus spreading out and balancing the forces to the deck and the rest of the structure of the boat.
More importantly, it resists running rigging forces exerted by blocks on the
cabin top at the base of the mast, preventing damage to the cabin. You should not have to adjust this rod.
The next step is to center the mast tip (left/right or port/starboard). Connect a tape measure to the halyard and hoist to the top. Then measure from the top to each side of the boat. Hand tighten the upper shrouds to center the top of the mast. Once it's centered you tighten it a couple of turns. Be careful to use the exact same number of turns on each side. Check the tension at this point -- it should be identical. Recheck centering with the tape measure. It should still be centered.
Next, hand tighten the lowers. Sight up the sail slide. Do this from each side as it's tough to actually see any bend. Once you're sure that the mast is straight take a couple of turns on the lowers to firm it up, Again, always make sure that you do each side exactly the same number of turns. Check the tension -- it should be identical.
Now look at the mast rake. Raking the mast rearward will add weather helm, straightening the mast should reduce weather helm. You should have a bit of weather helm, even in light air. Lee helm is a real problem and can be dangerous as the boat wants to turn away from the wind instead of into the wind.
Hang a heavy object (Wrench or something similar) on the halyard. Check the distance between the halyard and the mast. The distance should be wider at the bottom than at the top. (With the keel stepped mast on the T37, Adjusting for rake will involve adjustments to the forestay and backstay. If you have left your forestay untouched and excessive weather helm was not a problem, mast rake may be fine as-is.)
Double check the uppers with the tape and tension gauge and then tighten it 'til it's almost where you want it.
Double check the lowers. If everything is okay, tighten them to the final tension.
It's now time to do the backstay. If you have a backstay adjuster you might just tighten it a bit. While boats with some sweep to the spreaders can use backstay tension to induce pre-bend, the T37 does not have swept spreaders. Adjust backstay tension to remove sag from the forestay. Adjusting the backstay will affect the tension on the uppers. Once you're finished with the backstay go back and check the uppers, tightening them to where you want them. Double check everything for center and tension.
Next, go sailing in moderate winds and make sure the mast stays in column.
|
|