Forestay tension

[saltyrogue]

I picked my my new 1994 Mac 26s last weekend. I practiced raising the mast in the driveway and ran into the problem of not being able to attach the forestay. Even standing on the tongue of the trailer and hanging on it left me about two inches short. I do not see any type of turnbuckle at either end and with only a two inch gap there is not enough room to add one. I tried unhooking the backstay with no success. Is the forestay supposed to be this tight? If so, I am not sure why there isn't any tensioning device to ease attachment. I am thinking that I could hook a winch between the mast and the bow cleat and crank it in to give me that extra 2 inches I need to insert the pin. Hopefully I am just caught in the throes of newbie-ism and overlooking something simple.

Dave

[ChockFullOnuts22]

You have no turnbuckle on the forestay? That doesn't seem right. Unless there is something particular to the 26's that I don't know about, I'd say you're supposed to have a turnbuckle at the bottom of the forestay, where it attaches to the bow chainplate.

If your forestay is correct, the only thing I can think of that would cause the problem is your sidestay hardware. Check your shroud adjusters where the sidestays are secured to the chainplates, and make sure they're not binding on you when you raise the mast. Also, make sure that the shrouds aren't twisted or binding at the top of the mast.

Check out this link: http://www.bwyachts.com/BWYParts/PartsList.htm . This is a site where you can buy new factory parts for MacGregor boats. Type "forestay" into the product description box, hit enter, and then check out the listings. Each forestay listing has a picture (click on the blue square with the "i" in the middle) of the forestay, and it looks like there are two or three variations for the 26C. This may help you identify what you have, or what you're missing.

Let us know how you make out.

[Sumner]

Something doesn't seem right to me either. I've never heard of a S without a turnbuckle on the forestay. Have you talked to the previous owner about the problem.

If the shrouds (on the side) are not tensioned correctly then the 2 inches you have now could become more or even less. Was there a mast raising system with the boat (gin pole)?

Go to this site.....

http://macgregor.sailboatowners.com/ima ... f/1339.pdf

.... and download the factory manual and rig the boat like they say for starters to see how things work out and then go from there. I'm in the process of doing this now. Once I get the mast right according to the manual then I'll start using the Loose gauge we bought and trying some of the things that were mentioned in the "tensioning thread" on here.

We lost part of our turnbuckle on our way to Idaho last year and I had to jury rig the boat for the first week or so on the water while we waited for a turnbuckle to show up from BWY and when it came it was shorter than the one we had on the boat when we got it. So I still had to jury rig it. You never know if your rigging has changed over the years, so if you get one from them it might not necessarily be the correct part (length). I was able to use the chainplates off of the safety lines to get by without a turnbuckle until the one showed up, but was able to use the mast raising gear (block and tackle) to pull the forestay down far enough to pin it.

Good luck,

Sum

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[Highlander]

Dave

Go to the top center of this page , click on resources, scoll down to manuals click on the Mac26S manual .
Then scroll down the manual to page 15 pic 31 it clearly shows a turnbuckle on the bottom of the forestay as it is required to adjust the mast rake !

J

[saltyrogue]

Thanks for the help all. Since it does appear that my rig is lacking a turnbuckle of some sorts, what can I use to bridge that 2" gap and still be able to adjust tension? Also, are the shrouds supposed to have turnbuckles? Currently they have slotted holes/ pin, but all are encased in layers of white tape. I have read a few articles about tuning the rig, and keeping things tight is advised. but not to the point where I can play them like a harp string. Unfortunately the prior owner is not available, so I am unsure of the reasoning behind the current setup.

Cheers,

Dave

[Sumner]

There is no good way to permanently fix the problem you describe, so I'd suggest just fixing it right as it won't cost that much to do it right.

See if you can get a new forestay and turnbuckle from BWY or have one made up by ....

http://www.riggingonly.com/

....their turnbuckles and forestays are not that much.

One problem you have now is that if the shrouds are way off in adjustment you might not get the correct turnbuckle and forestay as they will affect the rake of the mast along with the forestay. The stock shroud adjusters are fine and are actually better if you trailer the boat a lot and raise and lower the mast a lot. I wouldn't replace those. Read the manual and it will explain all of that.

To help at this point take two pieces of metal strap about 1/8 thick by 1 inch or wider and drill holes at 2-3-4-5 inch intervals and sandwich the bow chainplate between the two pieces of strap and pin it through the hole at "0" inches. Then sandwich the thimble on the end of the forestay at hole 2-3-4 or 5 and see how the mast is raked and adjust the shrouds by moving them a hole at a time or as required. You still will need something like the stock mast raising block and tackle to be able to pull the mast far enough ahead to pin it. Do you have that??????

Once that is done you should have some idea if you need a new forestay and turnbuckle or just a turnbuckle,

Sum

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[saltyrogue]

Sumner, excellent idea- you are the man. I do have a gin pole. I finished it yesterday based on the photos descriptions from your website. Kudos to you for taking the time and effort to put good ideas and detailed descriptions out there for others to use.

Cheers,

Dave

[DaveB]

Dave, if you don't have a turnbuckle on headstay and don't have roller furler than a quick release shroud adjuster will work for you. You can put it on backstay or forestay,allows 2 inch slack so you can pin.
If you do have a roller furler headstay you can still put this unit on backstay . Both ways you will need to adjust your Stay plates for the extra length.

http://www.kellyhansonmarine.com/apps/w ... how/115896

Dave

I picked my my new 1994 Mac 26s last weekend. I practiced raising the mast in the driveway and ran into the problem of not being able to attach the forestay. Even standing on the tongue of the trailer and hanging on it left me about two inches short. I do not see any type of turnbuckle at either end and with only a two inch gap there is not enough room to add one. I tried unhooking the backstay with no success. Is the forestay supposed to be this tight? If so, I am not sure why there isn't any tensioning device to ease attachment. I am thinking that I could hook a winch between the mast and the bow cleat and crank it in to give me that extra 2 inches I need to insert the pin. Hopefully I am just caught in the throes of newbie-ism and overlooking something simple.

Dave

[Highlander]

Read the manual
Everything you need to know is in their !

FORWARD SUPPORT WIRE: (FORESTAY)
The forward support wire (23' 5 1/4") is attached to the bottom
end of the 1" x 6" stainless straps with a 1/4" x 2" bolt
and lock nut as shown in the Photo 4. Note that a pulley is
mounted on the same bolt. This pulley is used for the rope
that hoists the forward sail. Use a lock nut and run it down
tight.
Photo 4 Forward mast support wire and jib pulley
MIDDLE SIDE SUPPORT WIRES: (LOWER
SHROUDS)
The middle side wires (2 ea, 11' 11 1/2") and spreader U
brackets mount to the 3/8" hole through the mast located 11'
from the bottom of the mast. The assembly is shown in Photo
5. Use a 3/8" x 4" bolt and lock nut. Tighten the nut tight but
not so tight as to deform the mast. The straps that are attached
to the U brackets should point about 10 degrees to
the rear of the mast.
Photo 5 Middle side support wires (lower shrouds)
SPREADER TUBES:

So check the length of your forestay !
J

[Catigale]

2 inches is much too much to make up with tension. You are either missing parts or something is kinked incorrectly - make sure all the thimbles 'loops' in the rigging are straight at their attach points.

[McTexan]

I was gonna say that I couldn't comment on forestay tension due to being circumnavigated at birth, but.......

I have 3 things on the end of the forestay....A quick snap connector on the end, one of those lever action thingies that works like a chain binder, and a turnbuckle. Makes things easier, especially if I'm, alone. Throw the mast up, walk the forestay forward under tension then clip it. With the lever open the slack makes it easier to hook to the boat and hold the mast up, then can be drawn up tight with the lever. the lever secures with a pin through the handle once it's drawn up tight. I have the pin secured to a lanyard. It's one of those pins with spring-loaded ball bearing in the end. No ring dings. I HATE ring dings! When God created sailboats, he was so tickled with what he'd done, he didn't notice Satan dashing around putting ring dings on everything.