All, I can share my recent experience on this. I had Loos gauges for my old Catalina with stranded rigging and came to like having that piece of mind. When I bought my C&C with rod, I had trouble with the cost of the RT-10 and did not buy one for several years.
I put out an inquiry several weeks ago and Harry Hallgring from the list was kind enough to ship me his gauge to try. It turned out that in previous years I was nowhere near tight enough doing it by feel, the gauge gave me the confidence to tighten them down properly. I can confirm that it has made a substantial difference in how the boat sails and eliminated some issues we had with differences between tacks.
I was also surprised at how quickly the tension changes with rod as Rob points out below. Once you get to a certain tension, the gauge moves rapidly with only a little movement of the turnbuckle.
Long story short, I am now sold on the value of the RT-10, though it still seems like a lot to pay. I started looking for a used one, but came across new ones at the Binnacle's US site (http://us.binnacle.com/product_info.php?products_id=9150) for $426, no tax and free shipping. That seemed too good to pass up and I was not sure how long it would last, so I am now the owner of an RT-10.
Jim Reinardy
C&C 30-2 "Firewater"
Milwaukee, WI
C&C 30-2 "Firewater"
Milwaukee, WI
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Stus-List Rod Rigging Tension C&C 32
From: Dave S via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>
Date: Wed, June 14, 2017 7:55 am
To: "C&c Stus List" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>
Cc: Dave S <syerd...@gmail.com>
Thanks. I lack both experience and empirical data, (no gauge) so your input really helps. I suspect that I simply did not set it up correctly initially. Last week's sail was in 14-16kts, gusts to 19, rare-ish here, a fair bit of "bash and crash" and first time this season, so any microbends certainly got unbent, and the unseated was seated.Dave---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: robert <robertabb...@eastlink.ca>
To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com
Cc:
Bcc:
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2017 09:55:31 -0300
Subject: Stus-List Rod Rigging Tension C&C 32Dave:
I can't add much to what Josh has stated. Each Spring, the mast is stepped, I set the rig tensioned the same as every year.....even if my boat sits at the dock, the shroud tension will ease a bit...maybe as much as 100 lbs. or 5% to 7% of the initial tension.
One half turn on my turnbuckle is not a lot of 'actual distance' gained or losed.....as Josh says "a micro bend"..... however, if I leave the gauge on the shroud when the turnbuckle is tightened or loosened, it will move the gauge accordingly.
Without the Loos RT 10, I am merely guessing the rig tension......under tensioning is obvious when you take the boat out under sail.....over tensioning is not as easy to detect.
I come from a racing background where rig tension is paramount.....we were constantly adjusting it to suit the conditions on race day......sometimes up and down between races on the same day While I don't race AZURA, old habits like rig tensioning has remained with me.
Rob Abbott
AZURA
C&C 32 - 84
Halifax, N.S.On 2017-06-13 5:45 PM, Josh Muckley via CnC-List wrote:"How do I gauge?" - this is the argument for paying $500 for the Loos Tension gauge, otherwise you are just guessing.I believe there are micro bends, stretches, seating, and flexing throughout the system which allow the rig to loosen up. With such low stretch rod rigging only a fraction of an inch can be the difference between hundreds of pounds of tension and zero pounds.Josh MuckleyS/V Sea Hawk1989 C&C 37+Solomons, MDOn Jun 13, 2017 12:40 PM, "Dave S via CnC-List" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:Timely...I set up my rigging per the instructions in the owners manual immediately after launch, and Windstar sat for a few weeks other than a couple of very gentle sails. Finally got to give her a righteous thrashing last weekend and I returned with slack upper shrouds - a bit alarming. Lowers and mids not obviously changed, mast step not collapsing, chainplates not failing.I suspect I had not adequately tightened the uppers. A neighbor explained that his boat changes shape a bit once launched (or rather, sitting on the cradle all winter distorts it a bit.)Without a gauge, how do I gauge that ensure that the shrouds are tight enough? Deflection?What is it that re-seats and settles when the rig is first set up?Tx.Dave
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