tophatyachts.com

Hiya tophatters
Im about to put my mast back up and stupidly didnt mark where the turnbuckles were. Ive got a tension gauge but was wondering if anyone has any specific info on what the rig tension should be. Thanks alot!

My rigger just went around until he was satisfied..40 years of doing it I suppose!!

Don't forget to put in at least 150 mm of rake otherwise you will suffer serious weather helm.

This how I tuned Egret II when I had her mast out .
Your aft lowers should have about 10 mm of play in them if you were to swing them round with your hand ! This helps the mast move foreward and puts a little bit of bend in the masts belly when sailing,as we all know you can't bend a Top Hat mast. You don't need to over tighten normal hand tight at first and then nip them up .When you go for a sail you will have some forestay sag and how much will depend if you have a furler or hanks ( Egret II had hanks ). To much and the yacht will want to fall away and won't want to point and the headsail won't set correctly but you can adjust it with the backstay. You can use your halyard and a tape measure to make sure your mast is plump in the boat

Cheers Bear