Launching And Commissioning - Columbia Coronado 25 Owenrs Manual

5.17 Launching & Commissioning
Now that your boat is complete and ready to go into the water it is
extremely important that you carefully check out your rigging and mast
prior to having the boat moved to the launching facility. Check the
dimensions of all your shrouds, standing rigging, and the dimensions o£
the location of the tangs, in accordance with the drawings provided, to
insure that when the mast is stepped that everything fits properly.
Enclosed in this manual is a Launching & Commissioning Record. If you
follow the Launching & Commissioning Record step-by-step you should have
an easy time getting your boat ready for sea.
When tuning your rigging the following steps are recommended.
5.17.1 Mast Tune
Under no circumstances should any of the rigging be set up "bar tight".
For all sailing conditions we recommend that the mast be vertical and in
column, with the rigging "firm". It is very important that a
knowledgeable person who understands this concept oversees the initial
tuning of the mast and rigging.
You should be able to stand facing the mast, reach out and pull on any stay
and see the mast move in that direction. With a light pull or push by hand at
chest height, this dockside starting point will have both stays of equal
tension with about 1" to 2" of play in the uppers and 2" to 3" of play in the
lowers. The backstay and jib stay should be of equal tension and have about
1" of play. If the mast is stepped on deck the rigging will be tighter than a
mast stepped on the keel. With double lowers the after lowers will be looser
than the forward lowers by about 1" of play. Some of the newer tall rigs have
intermediate shrouds, the tension of which should be between that of the
uppers and lowers.
On a large mast you may notice a line of rivet heads running up one side
of the mast. These hold a 3/4" PVC tube to the inside of the mast for the
running of optional instrument wires.
The final tuning of the mast should take place while sailing to windward
in a medium breeze of 8 to 10 knots. Sighting along the backside of the
mast from deck level will indicate what further turnbuckle adjustment
needs to be made to the WINDWARD side of the mast. The top of the mast
SHOULD NOT "hook" to windward. In a medium breeze the mast should be
straight and this is normally accomplished by taking up on the lower
shrouds. ALWAYS TACK, and then make the turnbuckle adjustments on the now
LEE or slack side of the mast and then sight the mast on the new,
SECTION 5
Page 32