[quote=Wolfman]Indy,
That is a nice looking boat!! The position of the forestay is the first thing you adjust. This governs the rake of the mast (the angle that the mast sits with respect to the hulls). You generally want very little mast rake for a Nacra 5.0, it should almost be straight up and down but with a little rake backwards. In the photos the positioning looks pretty good.
The shrouds govern the rig tightness. Looking at the photos your rig is REALLY loose. The shrouds should be the same length and should be in the same hole on both sides of the boat (that will keep the mast centered). You want the rig fairly tight without restricting the mast rotation.
For tramp lacing I switched to 1/8" vectran (you can use dyneema line) this year and it has REALLY improved the tightness and stiffness of the tramp and rig overall. If you follow the lacing instructions in the manuals (in the technical help gallery) you can get a super tight tramp. I ordered mine from Annapolis Performance Sailing here:
[url]http://www.apsltd.com/p-21223-vectrus-12-18-3mm.aspx[/url]
Just tie a bow line at one side and finish it off with 3-4 half hitches. If you follow the instructions in the manual you can get it really tight without the need for pliers or other tools.
Here are some links to the knots you need to know:
Bow Line
[url]http://www.animatedknots.com/bowline/index.php?Categ=boating&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com[/url]
Round Turn And 2 Half Hitches
[url]http://www.animatedknots.com/roundturn/index.php?Categ=boating&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com[/url]
Figure 8
[url]http://www.animatedknots.com/fig8/index.php?Categ=boating&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com[/url]
These will cover 99% of your needs. One other useful knot to know is the Truckers Hitch:
[url]http://www.animatedknots.com/truckers/index.php?Categ=boating&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com[/url]
And of course coiling your rope at the end of the season`:
[url]http://www.animatedknots.com/coiling/index.php?Categ=ropecare&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com [/url]
One thing to note is that you can't melt the ends of the high tech rope with flame like you do with poly rope. I would suggest either dipping the ends in liquid electrical tape or using 3:1 shrink tubing to keep the ends from fraying. You could also probably use electrical tape in a pinch.[/quote]
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