HOW MUCH TO LOOSEN RIGGING

[larryj]

GREETINGS
I am the new owner of a so 35 as of august . Delivered her from Annapolis to Maine - yikes - right out of the yard - all went well - sailed by the Statue of Liberty, and have a top speed recorded on my GPS of 11.2 knots - going thru Hells Gate ! Can you say white water .

Any way on a sadder note how loose can the rigging be over the winter - its on the hard - with the swept back spreaders can the back stays be removed ? I loosened everything 1/4 inch or so but the shrouds still feel very tight - maybe the rig was too tight ?
I have lots of questions ! some answers too
Cheers Larryj

[renegade27]

Hi, Larry - I also have a SO35 (great boat!) and plan to NOT loosen anything while on the hard.

I spent a fair amount of time tuning the rig - don't want to screw it up! Plus, all the stays and connection points are well below their design "failure" points and while it feels tight to the hand, shouldn't "feel" tight to the boat.

Other opinions?

[electricmonk]

Hi Larry,

IF you want to loosen anything back off the backstay an inch, but leave everything else`as is.

A loose rig will work more in the winter as the wind blows through it wearing it out.

As others have said if the rig feels tight its probably right - leave it alone.

The other alternative is unstep the mast for the winter, in the past I have found this to be equivalent to presenting a blank cheque to the marine industry.