Edgar wrote:
"Ellen MacArthur" wrote
"Walt" wrote

BTW, dinghy sailors know how to tune rig tension ourselves.
We don't need a $110/hr consultant to do it for us.

How do you do it?

No, it is not harder. Tighten all three up to a decent tension so that the
mast is upright and there is no slackness that can lead to fatigue failure
when not in use. Then, when you hoist your jib, tension up the jib really
hard so that the forestay does go a bit slack and the luff wire of the jib
has all the tension. The remaining two shrouds will then be correctly
tensioned.

Well, this depends on the boat. I'd say consult the tuning guide for
your boat and sails. (yes, the progeny of the sails makes a difference.)

For my boat, I keep the forestay very loose with several inches of sag.
Then I raise the jib on shore and tension the rig to 150 lbs as measured
by a Loos gauge - at this point the forestay is completely slack. This
gives me a nominal setting which I mark, and I'll go up or down from
there as needed. The jib halyard is tweaked constantly while sailing
(every 30 to 60 seconds) as conditions dictate - more tension for
pointing, less for speed, and quite slack when sailing off the wind.

Other boats are different. Don't try this with a keelboat.

//Walt