by darkstar32170 » Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:11 pm
I don't think there's ever been any sort of tuning guide written for the 32-2. Since it was never a one-design there aren't any one-design rules that establish rig limitations and since there were less than 60 boats there isn't anything like a North Sails Tuning Guide.
I would think the best professional sources would be Ben Hall (Hall Spars, Bristol, RI and part owner of "Bluto") and John Fries (UK Halsey Sails, Mystic, CT and owner of "Remedy").
Because there is a serious lack of weather helm, I try to get the sailplan as far aft as I can get it. You can achieve this by raking the mast as much as you can. This means moving the mast step forward as far as possible and maximizing headstay length. "Dark Star's" headstay when I got her was an old Hood Gemini headfoil. This was, I believe, an aluminum extrusion that was the headstay. There was no stainless steel wire inside it. It probably was original equipment. The interesting thing was that it had two toggles added to it to lengthen it an additional 3". As my boat was originally owned (and built) by Ben Hall I suspect that he added them. So I think that there were early efforts to lengthen the headstay beyond the original dimension. You need to create as much weather helm as possible on this boat so that the rudder is at a positive angle of attack when going upwind. The boat will go to weather much better, not only will it feel better but the hydrodynamics are better.
I normally set up the shrouds tight enough to keep the leeward shrouds from going slack. If they do go slack its an indication that the mast is falling off to leeward and is probably not straight under a sailing load. I don't have any Loos gauge numbers. I have a gauge but never use it. Maybe I'll try it in the spring and we can exchange numbers. I always found that in the Great Lakes I had better results with a rig set a little looser than I do now in Narragansett Bay. You have more light air in the summer, we have a very reliable afternoon seabreeze (10-15 knots).
Has anyone moved their checkstays aft to the transom? I know they would be more effective there but then they would require resetting on each tack. There is a Evelyn 26 here that has done this. They were originally located on the cabin trunk because under MORC rules as long as they were within a certain distance of the mast there was no penalty. I think Bob liked the setup and kept it for the 32-2.
I'd be interested in how other owners set up their rigs.
David Lodge
Evelyn 32-2 "Dark Star" 32170