Hi nacrascott,
<br>a few tips from my days of sailing a 5.2. First, you will need at least an 8:1 downhaul to really flatten the main. Incidentally this depowers the rig when its blowing (if you did not know) Second, just take the stupid kneeknocker bar off and put a stainless steel poprivet in each of the beam straps. This will stop rotation of the beams and make your knees happy. I sawed the 2 inches of extrusion off the post where the traveler cleat is located after I took the bar off. rig tension; it is pretty accepted that your diamond wires should be just loose enough to be able to touch the mast 12 inches up from the lower attachments when you grab them and squeeze them to the mast. This gives you the right mast shape. The jib blocks should be adjustable fore and aft depending on wind strength and conditions. When sailing in anything less than 20 the jib blocks should be all the way forward I think somewhere near, or just in front of the shrouds. When its blowing, bring them all the way back. I installed a system that allows me to do thisfrom the opposite side of the boat as the jib block(because that is where you will be sitting). As mentioned by other posters, install or repair your barberhauler(jib outhaul), it helps tremendously.
<br>Hope this helps
<br>dave mosley,
<br>www.SEACATS.org<br><br>