Hi Charlie Different boat but also has check stays and hydraulic backstay. Frers 33. Somewhat bendy mast (with the hydraulic backstay).
Check stays should be ideally close to mid line in boat at the transom but that is not very possible because helms person would be hindered by these. Those boats with a tiller often mount on the track that runs across the transom. On persistence are mounted to pad eyes at the forward end of pushpit port and stbd, Rod Stright with the C&C 99 Equinox also on this list also had a Frers 33 so may chime in. We were told when we bought the boat that the checks were to prevent mast pumping in a chop. We almost never see this. However the boat is masthead rig and backstay is primarily used to tension forestay and luff of headsail. This is often detrimental to mainsail shape resulting in large wrinkle extending down the middle of the main. The check stays pull the mast aft from a point just below the upper spreader. This eliminates (or reduces) the wrinkle in the main caused by backstay tension. Of course we rarely use the check stays as it adds an extra layer of complication to running the boat but when we have in the past it made for a better mainsail shape in certain conditions. Normally we just run them down the shrouds and tie them off at shroud base for simplicity. We do not have runners. Hope this helps Mike Hoyt Persistence Halifax, NS From: Charlie Nelson via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: August 18, 2022 1:43 PM To: cc-3...@googlegroups.com; cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: cenel...@aol.com Subject: Stus-List Runners/check-stays Hello all; My C&C 36 XL/kcb was delivered with the runners/check-stays run to the aft rail just about the location of the original headsail winches. They are rigged with a 4:1 purchase and are released/tightened depending on what tack we are on. Downwind they are unshackled and pulled forward. I removed the baby stay and its purchase/track to save wear and tear on the headsail during tacks so my boat is slightly modified from its factory settings. I do have and use a hydraulic backstay adjuster and always race with a roller furling headsail. I just had all the standing rigging replaced after 27 years of mostly PHRF racing in the lighter airs of the Pamlico Sound/Neuse River in NC. With a PHRF rating of 120 I am usually competitive with the fleet against similar sized boats sailed reasonably well--which I manage to do most of the time. My question for this group, especially those with runners/check-stays rigged, is two fold: 1. Given their aft location on the quarters, the angle they make with the mast is mostly aft--I'd guess about 75 degrees from perpendicular to the mast, or maybe 165 degrees off the bow. At that angle and purchase, they certainly have a minor effect on pulling the mast to weather upwind, which I understand is their main purpose (although they may also help prevent mast pumping in serious chop). Question #1 is do I really need them as currently set-up? 2. If the answer to question #1 is yes, my next question #2 is should I move them forward so they have a better angle keeping the mast to windward and perhaps increase their purchase? I know from these groups that some run their runners/check-stays to winches to put some serious tension on them at the expense of more trimming, etc. Before I do a sailing test with and without them, thoughts from the lists are welcome. BTW, my mast is a relatively bendy Off-Shore spar--hardly a telephone pole--so it can be bent with the hydraulic backstay adjuster. Thanks, Charlie Nelson 1995 C&C 36 XL/kcb Water Phantom
