[C320-list] Ahoy

[Bronwen Young]

Hello Joan,

  Here is the take from another new to us 320 owner.
Our boat came with the forestay super tight.  This made the mast be dead straight up in the air.  It also gave us lee helm in all winds and all points.
I read Yeager's article and started from there.
I took apart the furler to get at the forestay turnbuckle.  I calculated that increasing its length 2.5" would put the top of the mast back 9 inches.
I lengthened it 22/16 of an inch [hence 1 3/8"], then went to the aft stays and tightened then until they read Loos PT-2 #30 [660 lbs].
One side was longer than the other so I had to adjust them to get the upper aft stay in the middle.  They are PT-2 #29 [600 lbs].
I had done nothing to the shrouds.  The fore lowers were at #34 which was way too tight.  I backed them off to #28 [550 lbs].
This gives the mast a nice little prebend forward in the lower middle.
The upper shrouds needed no more adjustment and are at 660 lbs [I borrowed a neighbour's PT-3 to check this, I do think it was 18].
I tuned up the middle shrouds to make the mast dead straight laterally, they are at #29 [600 lbs] which is higher that Yeager recommends.
The aft lowers didn't get any adjustment, but turned out to be Yeager's 18.
A heavy wrench suspended from the main halyard hangs 5 inches aft of the goose neck for the boom.
We have a very neutral helm in lighter air and a little bit of weather helm in heavier air.

We have decided that for now we will not implement a backstay adjuster.  We will sail her and club race her for a while and 
see how things go in different winds.

Hope this helps.

Eric and Bronwen
FanaSea #198