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 Nelson1995 C&C 36 XL/kcbWater Phantom
