282: PACIFIC CROSSING: SECOND WEEK and Rigging Issues

In our second week of our Pacific Crossing, we encounter some rigging issues due to the changing of the martingale two months prior. The rigger did not tension the cap shrouds or the forestay correctly. Check out our video to find out how we attempted to fix the issue.
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We are Eileen and Brown Councill. Welcome to our channel and a glimpse into our NEW life adventure! 2020 was a year of uncertainty and change (for all of us, right?), but we overcame the challenges and decided it was time to chase our dream, to sail around the world! Did I mention that we have very little sailing experience? Before leaving Qingdao, China, our home of 4 years, we sold almost all of our earthly possessions and started our international search to find the right sailboat that we would call "home." After 5 months of unanticipated twists and turns, we found what we were looking for, a used Leopard 44' Catamaran located in St. Lucia.
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[@JibeTalking]

Very informative video!! Great job!

[@SailingBlownAway]

Thank you SO much!! We are glad you found it helpful! Thanks for commenting.

[@peterklauza1481]

Great job guys

[@SailingBlownAway]

Thank you!!!

[@krishearst]

Always tie a line to the end of a tool when using it in on deck.

[@SailingBlownAway]

YES!! Brown kept saying that but our friend didn’t think it necessary. It would have been a smart move!! Thanks!

[@elenaandrufo]

Always so busy! Do you ever get time to relax ?! There seem to be so many jobs to do around the boat all the time …I feel for you.. 😘

[@SailingBlownAway]

Ha ha. Always. Yes, there are days that are better than others!! But just like owning a house…you have to maintain it all the time!!

[@peterm.nangeroni691]

Hi Brown, The next time you're in some bigger port, get a 4' section of 1-2" pipe, cut into 2 pieces, and then flatten one end so that it will fit over the end of those big adjustable's you are using, makes a huge difference in the leverage, probably make it a one hand event.... Fair Winds

[@SailingBlownAway]

YES! It’s on our to do list already. Thanks for reminding us. The leverage would make it much easier to turn. That’s what our rigger used back in December.

[@1sailfast]

@@SailingBlownAway If that's the case i have a concern about whether the rigger might have damaged your boat. I sincerely hope I’m wrong. Check chainplates and bulkheads.

[@SailingBlownAway]

@1sailfast We check them all the time as part of regular maintenance. We think the rigger didn’t tighten the shrouds all the way after changing the martingale and he didn’t know how many turns were needed on the martingale as it was brand new. Hw should have gone out for a sail with us to adjust rigging. He didn’t and that’s what we should have insisted upon/done. We learned a lot.

[@1sailfast]

The amount of effort you put into tightening the windward shroud has me concerned about the possibility of galled threads in the turnbuckle. I hope anti-seize compound was applied to the threads before assembly.

[@SailingBlownAway]

Thanks. We continually assess for any issues. We are replacing standing rigging in a year.

[@svZia-Switch51]

Mexican casserole Montezuma’s Revenge! 😊

[@SailingBlownAway]

Ha ha ha. Nope it was the chicken curry that did it!’ 🤣🤣🤣

[@1sailfast]

DO NOT EVER ADJUST SHROUDS WHILE UNDER SAIL! There is no way to assess correct tension. It’s especially dangerous to tighten the leeward shroud under sail. It can result in over-tension and lead to bulkhead damage (like what happed to Parlay Revival). In a multihull the tension should not be as high as in a monohull because the geometry of the boat - it has a wider angle between shrouds and centerline, resulting in more leverage and downward force on the mast compression. When there are no backstays the rig might feel a bit slack on the leeward side - that is within normal parameters so long as it doesn’t ‘work’ excessively and cause whipping. If you MUST adjust underway you should ONLY tighten the windward side but it is better to drop all sails first.

[@SailingBlownAway]

Thanks for all of your advice. We were working under the guidance of a certified rigger. We had to tighten the shrouds and the martingale as it was just replaced and they were all whipping. We didn’t have a choice. We had under 10kts of wind.

[@1sailfast]

@@SailingBlownAway got it 👍. I wish you well and I hope you get it right. I’m a certified master captain and have over 40 years owning sailboats (24 years with multihulls). I try to learn from everyone - it’s never enough. Some very experienced riggers don’t know enough about multihulls although they know a lot about the pieces and how they go together. (PS - you and I were in the same Northern Lights class).

[@SailingBlownAway]

Ah very cool. That was a great class. We appreciate your information and words of caution. We made a mistake not to test it out before we left. So, we had to do it underway or risk a bigger issue. The rigger did the best he could to help us through it. No one in Central America had the proper tensioning tool for the rig so it was guess work from the beginning. We are new to sailing so we are learning as we go and this was a very valuable lesson to learn and one we hope we won’t ever repeat! It could be that our decision to act was not a wise one, but given the whipping of the shrouds and forestay when we did have wind, we think we made the right choice. Thanks again!!