[Rhodes22-list] Adjusting Mast Rake

[Shawn Boles]

Hi Chris:

Save yourself the trouble.

 I just finished trying to increase rake with extension to forestay. A
total bust. I sailed her once  with the backstays almost parallel giving  ~
3-5 degrees of rake.
Not only was there no improvement in lee helm, but the GB jib furling line
jammed around the extension when I attempted to furl in, due to
insufficient tension. So I wrestled the 175 into submission and  tied it
off on the furler.

The boatyard  was able to restore everything to regular GB setup. They
suggested a triangular backstay tensioner and I declined, having learned my
lesson. However I have not sailed since.

That evening I came down with septicemia (WBC > 30k, norm is 4.5k - 10.5k)
and spent 5 days in a great hospital where they saved my life.

It turns out what doesn't kill you doesn't make you stronger, it makes you
weaker.  The literature is not clear on recovery time but my docs and I are
looking at one to three months. At 6 weeks into recovery I am still
sleeping 14 to 18 hours a day. In two or three weeks I'm going to attempt
to get others to take me out for a sail in the boat. I look forward to
experiencing lee helm again🤦🏻‍♂️.

Cheers,
Shawn
s/v Sweet Baboo





On Sun, Jul 24, 2022, 1:53 PM Chris on LBI <cknell at vt.edu> wrote:

> Hey all,
>
> I feel like I have chipped away at overcoming the lee helm that my
> Rhodes has exhibited since we've owned it. Adding weight forward of the
> mast (I filled the water tank and added a couple of cinder blocks),
> tightening-up the forestay, and unfurling less genoa have all helped I
> think. However, I would like to try raking the mast aft a little. When I
> use the aft-stay tensioners to tighten the forestay as much as possible,
> I have virtually no rake; that is, the mast is approximately
> perpendicular to the waterline. So I need to lengthen the forestay in
> order to lean the mast aft. I'm thinking some sort of extender under the
> jib furling cup would do the job. Somewhere between 1 1/2 and 3 inches
> would be a good place to start, but it would be nice to be able to
> adjust it. I have attached a photo of the coupling of the forestay to
> the chainplate at the bow.
>
> Does anyone have a recommendation for what to use to accomplish this
> extension in a manner that would allow for trying different lengths?
>
> Thanks,
> Chris
>
>
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