Adjusting the main stays

Rollin Young

New Member
Hello, I'm new to the forum. I did try to search the threads but I am not great at this computer. Hope I am not asking a question that has been asked a 100 times.

I have recently bought a used Capri 14.2. When I rigged it there was slack in the main stays (holding the mast side to side). I couldn't adjust the slack out as the holes are about a 1/4 inch apart. It seems to sail fine. I moor it on a lake in the summer with lots of boat traffic. Each time a wave comes by I can hear the mast shifting back and forth.

Is this constant shifting of the mast hurting the mast, stays, boat? Is there a way to tighten the stays if needed? I hope not to have to take the mast down after sailing each day.

If this is a problem my only thought is to put a turnbuckle on the stays.

Thanks for any help. Rollin
 
Is this constant shifting of the mast hurting the mast, stays, boat? Is there a way to tighten the stays if needed? I hope not to have to take the mast down after sailing each day.

I am also new to the 14.2 and this forum but I have been sailing for better than 65 years and I have seen this sort of issue on other boats I have owned. First Ill say that in time the constant "hammering" on the standing rigging of any vessel will cause ware to some extent. In this case I cannot say if actual damage to any of the rigging would occur in weeks, years or decades but it will defiantly leave a mark over time. The solution I have used in the past is to attach the foresail halyard to the bow of the boat and pull it up tight. This will tighten the shrouds and stop the constant hammering of the mast against the stays. The forestay will continue to flop in the breeze but with no weight/tension on it it is unlikely you will ever see any ware. I am not an expert on this or anything else so take my comments for what they are worth.
 
I had a 14.2 that I moored on a buoy on a lake, that has occasional high winds. When our Capri's stays were loose like that, one such gust knocked the mast over.

The solution I found was to wrap a line in a loop around the two side stays, and then tighten it using a taut line hitch. This artificially tightens the stays when we are at the mooring, and keeps the mast from wagging back and forth. I do this every time I moor the boat, and it has worked for years.

I don't claim that this is theoretically well-founded, so if you have a better solution, by all means do it. But I would not recommend leaving the side stays loose when you're not sailing, based on my experience.
 

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