I disagree a little bit here. The jib halyard tension and the shroud chainplate pin placement work together to define mask rake. Whether the main blocks will go block-to-block is a by product. First, for the majority of wind conditions, the jib tension should be fairly tight (1 to 2 inch deflection of the shroud). From there, you can then set the shroud chainplate pin to effect mask rake.

My boat is set up with the pin at the third hole up from the bottom of the chainplate (I believe my shrouds are a "normal" length). This gives me a good combination of mast rake and weather helm but I can only reasonably sheet to about 1 inch from block-to-block. Lighter teams have the pin in the first or second hole and can sheet block-to-block very easily. I do not think it is a good idea to back off jib halyard tension in order to get block-to-block. I may have misunderstood what you were saying.





the goal is maximum mast rake. the limiting factor is the mainsheet blocks. the jib halyard controls the rake. the forestay needs to be long enough to allow the mast to rake back far enought so the main blocks are almost touching when both sails are up and you are actually sailing. use additional shackles or a pigtail of cable (mine is about 6" long) to lengthen the forestay. higher wind strengths require more tension on the jib halyard. when you are sailing upwind your mainsheet blocks should be almost touching each other and the forestay should be just slack, with all the load on the jib. the side stays should be slightly slack on the leeward side. too much tension on the side stays makes for poor mast rotation. hope this helps!



marsh hawk