On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:09:42 -0700, wrote:

Does anybody know how to go about calculating the stresses in standing
rigging. I have an masthead sloop rigged 50 ' FRP boat. 4 lowers, 2
intermediates, 2 uppers, head & back stay. All inboard rigging. I'd
like to know the tensions in the various stays - vs the tensile
strength of the wires. Any ideas on how this is done?
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From scratch? Find the forces on the mast.
Find the dimensions of the mast attachments and the angles
that the rigging makes. Then the trig is straightforward.

Finding the forces promises to be the difficult bit.
Off the top: one way I suppose would be to attach a line at a
strategic point on the mast, and attempt to pull the boat to a 45
degree heel or so. Measure that force and angle, and that might
provide some basis for a reasonable estimate.

Good luck.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK