David, I would get them all the same length. 185 3/4 inches. That little amount of difference can be taken up with the turnbuckles. They should all be made up the same as they are essentially doing the same thing. Supporting the mast by forming a tripod. I would guess you would be eliminating just another chance of the standing rigging being made incorrectly if you sent off three different dimensions. The guy at the other end making them up doesn't have to think much about just one dimension. May as well check all your clevis and cotter pins while you are at it. Including the ones holding your spreaders to the mast. Yellowstone is a beautiful park. I have spent several vacations there though have yet to put a boat on Jenny Lake. The Titons should look terrific from the water. Sounds like a great trip. Make sure your spares, both car and trailer, have air in them also. Fair winds, Tom B M-17, #258 On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 3:06 PM, David Grah <d_b_grah@yahoo.com> wrote:
After almost a two month wait thinking about it and almost having a sailing trip to Yellowstone cut short due to a fraying shroud, I am about to order new rigging from Morrison Marine in Rancho Cordova.
As far as I know, my Montgomery 15 is rigged okay. So I planned on getting the new rigging essentially just like the old. Before I do though, I thought I would check with the group again to see if there is anything I am missing.
I took the old rigging off the boat then, for each piece, put one end over a nail, pulled on the cable to put it under some tension, made a mark where the other end fell, and then measured it with a tape. The measurements I got were forestay 185 11/16 inches, port shroud 185 13/16 inches, and starboard shroud 185 7/8 inches. The bottom ends of each have a stainless fitting and the tops have nicopress-type swagings with the cable wrapped around what I would call a thimble. The shrouds have two swagings at the top but the forestay only has one.
These are the things I am wondering if the group has any comments about:
1. The three pieces are all of slightly different lengths but I don't think that is intentional. Also, when attaching the forestay when putting up the mast, as well as when sailing around, I don't get the impression tension or exact lengths are extremely critical. I plan on asking for all three pieces to be made the same length, 185 3/4 inches in my case.
2. I don't understand why the forestay would be swaged differently from the shrouds. Even though the forestay attaches inside the mast, at least one swaging will need to fit through the slot (and does) so two should fit too. It seems more sensible for the three to be assembled the same way.
Thoughts on these or anything else? Thanks, as always, for the help and wisdom.
David Grah Montgomery 15 Bishop California