I have lot's of good tuning guides and rig setup information on the site here_.I was wondering if anyone has a preferred setup or which tuning guide you have found works the best from personal experience?

Many thanks in advance as tomorrow night is "tuning" night starting at the partners and working my way up from there_..

I have tried mast step all the way forward and aft, to come to the conclusion 1'' from the molded step is best. That is just forward of mid on my step. I like the North Sails Tuning Guude

Keep the mast all the way back in the partners and max headstay length. Tune the shrouds for the conditions. Loosen it up in light air makes a huge difference.

Thanks for the info. That was exactly what I was looking for.

Each tuning guide has something to offer. After many years with the same sailmaker a change required us to make some adjustments. For example a straighter mast fits the luff curve of the UK main, while the North looks better with a bit of pre-bend. My rule of thumb is a new main or Genoa means a visit within the first couple races from your sailmaker.

Mast step 1" from molded step, J at 11' 6", and max headstay is standard to get rake and helm right. Next time your rig is down, measure the headstay from the upper eye to where the swage ends above the turnbuckle. Then when you set the length you will only need to measure the last foot or so from the stem to this point instead of trying to hoist a tape measure up the mast.

As you tune, center the mast tip using the main halyard to a point on the rail. Use the stanchion base just aft of the chainplates, but measure to be sure both are equidistant from the bow. As you tension, eyeball the mainsail track and adjust the shrouds so it stays in column. It's fairly easy to see if the mast is straight.

After many years of always using max headstay it's now a rare light air day with no chop that we don't tighten along with the shrouds. It's not an exact science though as we often adjust the rig without changing the headstay. You also have to account for changing headsails.

If you plan to adjust the rig before each race, track the number or turns you add or subtract and write it down in a logbook. That way you always know how your rig is set and over time, can learn what works best for your sails. On the other hand if your racing conditions are consistent or you just don't want to fiddle with the rig every week (or every race), don't be afraid to find something that works, set it, and forget it.

Thanks Bob....I had a read through all four of the posted tuning guides and see some areas where they are all in agreement, and other areas where there seems to be some fairly strong disagreement. When I had my J/27 (in the days it was still a very active class) I was fortunate to get the tuning setup from the class winning boat...at the time this setup was different from all the guides that were posted and once I replicated the settings on my own J/27 we went on to win boat of the year on our lake with the new settings.

From the comments in this thread and reading all four guides and also still having the setup from the J/27 (very similar rig with one added set of spreaders) I think I have an idea as to what I am aiming for...working with the main sail luff curve as well of course. It should be fun......

I have never seen a picture of the step of anyone elses mast. Mine is currently to far aft (about 2 inches) but I can't really tell how it is adjustable. Does the base of the mast itself have a sliding bolt that is through the moulded step, or do you actually have to lift the mast and reset it forward?

Probably a dumb question because I haven't reached under the step to see how it is actually fixed.

The mast step has the ability to move forward and aft (that is if yours is not welded in from crud over the years).

You have to remove the mast to access the bolts that screw the mast step into the deck.

Maststep on our boat and others I've seen is a shoe with a flange that fits inside the base of the mast. It has two fore aft tracks with two screws on each side. I have heard of but never seen a shoe that did not have the tracks. I swapped the machine machine screws for stainless carriage bolts, figuring they are less likely to strip. Be sure to make sure the shoe is tight. First time we moved ours, we sailed downwind for half a day in breeze and the step slid aft. It is possible to adjust the step without completely removing the mast, but you must still hoist it at least a foot or two with a crane or gin pole.

Rhapsody posted this in another thread and on his Blog writes "Note the 'speed bubble' just like my North Sails race main." A bit of prebend might take care of that, while moving the draft forward, and might even eliminate the wrinkles emanating from head and parallel to the leech.