Shrouds and old gear

caviman1

New Member
Hello, it's the junior sailor again with some questions about my old rigging that I have on my Capri. I'm sure my boat needs some new rigging since
I know it hasn't been replaced but I have a question regarding the shrouds that I want to replace. I was given some rigging from a friend that he had used on his competition Hobie which he said was only around 2 years old; the shrouds are a little thicker than the standard rigging that comes on the Capri. If I were to replace the old standard ones with a new but thicker shroud, would that be okay? Another question concerning the rigging, when I recieved the boat it was already pre-tuned and I never tried to adjust the shroud length or tension. The tension seems right, but is there any real way to make sure that the tension is perfect other than using my hand?
THANKS
ERIC
________
silver surfer vaporizer
 
You could use the other larger shroulds but it would be best to just get the right size new ones for the boat. Nothing less fun than having an old shrould fail and dropping the rig.
As far as rig tune, down here in the MBYC fleet all the fast boats run a very loose set up. I think the mast rake measurement is 22"1" measured from the sheave to the top of the transome with the rig pulled forward. The traveller is set at 35" to 37" depending on your main. Set the forestay at the class maximum and sail the boat in 5-6 knots of breeze with your regular crew. The boat should have neutral helm. If you have some weather helm, shorten the forestay one hole. This as been a very successful setting for the racers in Southern CA so far.
 
Eric,

The factory standard C14.2 shrouds are 3/32" coated SS wire. They last a long time if stored out of the elements. My club stores our boats on the water in a salt-air environment. Thus, we get water intrusion into the shrouds. The water stays there and corrodes the wire, always in the same place, about 6" above the lower end. Shroud failures every few years are an issue we have to deal with, sadly. We recently decided to trial 1/8" wire on one of our mod3s. The idea was to get uncoated wire so it would not trap water inside the wires and to allow for inspections. The rigger who makes our stuff thought coated was better, however. Compared to the 3/32 wire, they are gigantic, but they are definitely are rock solid. I wouldn't advocate that size wire for daysailing or racing, however. Our boats are a special case as they are stored on the water and used by novices in some pretty strong wind weekly.

A quick way to check integrity of wire cable is to run you hand allong it to see if there are any "meathooks"-snapped wire strands. With coated wire it's impossible, however. If there is any sign of rust coming out of the coated portions, do not use the shroud.

Get new shrouds that are made for the boat. Unless the shrouds you were given happen to be the exact correct length, you will have to shorten them.
 

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