raising mast

1st year with boat is done , last spring I help help from seasoned sailor , this spring I wont have that luck so wondering I know I can get the mast up and boom on , but what after that happens? I watched him adjust the shrouds as his wife lay on her back at the foot of the mast saying a lil more here , there , what was the purpose of this and after the mast is up what adjustments do I make ? thanks

[Ed Schenck]

Getting the mast stepped and then tuning the rigging are two very different things. The first usually requires help but you don't say what kind of boat, how heavy the mast, or provide any detail at all. A lot of boats have their own fans and you can find tuning tips under "Search". Basically it is about getting the mast straight, then applying some rake and some bend, and finally tensioning it properly.

sorry I guess it would help to clarify the boat its a 1993 23.5 hunter and guess what I'm asking is after Ive raised the sail what gets done to be ready to sail pertaining to the mast prep

I mean raised the "MAST" been a long work day here , thanks

[Henry Scurlock]

Well bad co looks like you could use the long winter as a study hall with the 23.5 owners manual. All of the instructions for mast raising and rig tuning are in there. Jim S was kind enough to scan a copy of the manual and put it online at http://tinyurl.com/yczpbhx .
Tuning the rig is a pretty easy process, but it does take a little time and patience. If you didn't loosen the rigging when you took the mast down it should go fairly quickly as the rough work has already been done.
How was your sailing season this year? Ours here in Ohio was much too short that's for sure.

this year was all trial n error I had no clue howto sail a boat so went and found this 23.5 and started to learn, biggest thing I learned is that you cant keep the sails in tight and turn off the wind without letting the boom out, this one mistake turned my wife off of sailing early in the year , so I hadda learn solo but by the end of the year I was able to lean the boat over and hold it there just like the ones I see on the river. still have much to learn but havent broke anything yet.oh and Ive learned there ARE days when there is "TO MUCH WIND" to sail , another hard lesson learned, luckily I wasnt in direct contact with anyone else on the river so didnt risk injury or death on anyone but myself. kinda like this sailing thing though first year boating I spent no more then 30 bucks on gas all YEAR!!!!

[Henry Scurlock]

Yes sir, I understand about days with too much wind. Don't worry you'll soon be watching for those days to get out and sail!
Which river do you sail on?

on the st.lawerence here the river sits between USA and Canada am in new york near alex bay