Halyard Wire, Hoist and measuring Mast Rake

Make sure your halyard wire is the right length with the swages in the right locations to hoist your sail all the way up to the band. You can fudge a bit by getting a different size halyard shackle. If your sail is not fully hoisted you will be slow!

Make an extra halyard wire and bring it to all your regattas.

BUY YOUR OWN TAPE MEASURE. Try to get a metric one 7.5 meters (25 feet) long. If you can’t find a metric tape, just mark in the centimeter increments between 17 and 18 feet with a permanent marking pen.

Attach a ring-ding to the end of the tape measure so you have something to attach your halyard shackle to when measuring your rake.

To measure your rake

Hoist your tape up the mast and lock in the halyard. Pull the tape down to the stern of the boat, even with the deck, above the gudgeons as shown in the diagram. Push down on the stern allowing the mast butt to shift forward (causing the mast tip to shift back) putting the mast in the sailing” position. Pull the tape snug but don’t bend the mast. With Green Sails, 540cm is looking like a good rake to start at and with the WB Sails, 545cm is working.