Am I getting this wrong? Okay, there are a few different methods for checking mast rake.... they are
1.) The most common I believe is that while the boat is level on both axis, secure a five pound weight to your main halyard, hoist it to where is it free and measure the distance back from the trailing edge of the mast to the center of the halyard, this will give you the amount of rake you have in inches or mm/cm for you metric speakers..
2.) Take your trap-line, run it to the bridal tang (additional line required), mark that, and then bring it back to the transom moving forward until the mark touched the hulls.
3.) Similar to #1 but measure the distance from the center of the rear beam to the plumb line.
4.) Using a tape measure, hoist as you would your main and then measure the distance to the center of the rear-beam.
So you're probably scratching your head and asking where is he going with this, and that is, how can you determine the amount of rake you have with #2, #3, and #4? I was trying to explain to someone that #2 and #4 are ways you can check your rake for a quick tune. For instance using method #4 8" of rake is going to give you X measurement to the rear beam, 12" of rake will give you Y measurement, etc.... or the trap line, example #2 will land at the same spot with 8" of rake etc.... as for #3, this one is new to me.
Thoughts?
--
John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
--