Genoa halyward winch on mast?

E

Elemental

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 May 2007
Messages
1,198
Location
Weymouth
Visit site
After some re-rigging last season, my genoa halyard now terminates at the mast. The Halyard runs through a cleat (a simple clam cleat) and there's a fig 8 style cleat beneath that. I've been tensioning the genoa halyard by hand tightening, then sweating more tension on it by fastening the tail onto the cleat and pulling outward, then making sure the tension goes into the cam cleat above it. It works but it's a bit awkward and imprecise. Is a mast winch a good investment and if so what size would the panel recommend. (Boat is Ben. Oceanis 351). All other lines lead aft to the cockpit.
 
Sea Spray, a winch with something like a 4" drum would do if you're not man enough to 'sweat' it hard enough. If you've got roller reefing, terminating at the mast is quite acceptable as you only need to pull it up once a year.
Sailorman, why do you think the halyard is too small thickness - I can't see any reference to size in the question.
 
ghostlymoron said:
Sea Spray, a winch with something like a 4" drum would do if you're not man enough to 'sweat' it hard enough. If you've got roller reefing, terminating at the mast is quite acceptable as you only need to pull it up once a year.
Sailorman, why do you think the halyard is too small thickness - I can't see any reference to size in the question.
Click to expand...
Ok swap string for halliard
My RR genoa is adjusted,all the time i am sailing to the apparent wind speed & is NEVER left hauled tight ALWAYS unfurled & the halliard slackened right off at the end of every day.
 
Have you got roller furling gear? If so remember the halyard and foil tension act in tandem

With your foil straight and tight you don't need a massive amount of halyard tension, just enough to pull the creases out and trim the sail (if you are a racey type). As suggested, any small, cheap winch would do.
 
doug748 said:
Have you got roller furling gear? If so remember the halyard and foil tension act in tandem

With your foil straight and tight you don't need a massive amount of halyard tension, just enough to pull the creases out and trim the sail (if you are a racey type). As suggested, any small, cheap winch would do.
Click to expand...
I have a Navtec hydraulic pump on the back stay too
 
As a side point, when tensioning the genoa halyard on my 40 footer, I pull the back stay on to just about max, hoist the sail, then sweat a little tension in by hand or put a loop in the halyard below the mast mounted clutch and push some tension in with my foot. I don't do it at max backstay as I can't get the halyard tension I want there by hand/foot.

The importance of this procedure is that if you tension the halyard with the backstay eased, when you pull it on, the halyard/sail may start to take some of the forestay load, and that's a bad thing! It also puts you in the right starting point so that as you soften the forestay the luff of the Genoa softens with it, and vice versa, which is generally what you want. Actually, that's a pretty obvious point, but start in the wrong place and you can end up with an over or under tensionied halyard as you play the backstay.
 
Last edited:
Simondjuk said:
As a side point, when tensioning my genoa halyard on my 40 footer, I pull the back stay on to just about max, hoist the sail, then sweat a little tension in by hand or put a loop in the halyard below the mast mounted clutch and push some tension in with my foot. The importance of this procedure is that if you tension the halyard with the backstay eased, when you pull it on, the halyard/sail may start to take some of the forestay load, and that's a bad thing! It also puts you in the right starting point so that as you soften the forestay the luff of the Genoa softens with it, and vice versa, which is generally what you want. Actually, that's a pretty obvious point, but start in the wrong place and you can end up with an over or under tensioning halyard as you play the backstay.
Click to expand...

Not if one watches the luff tension & sail camber all the time. Much easier to adjust if all halyards are lead aft.
 
If it is a furler.

Raise it as far as possible and cleat it. Tension the luff with a lashing at the drum, or for luxury, a 4:1 tackle. Removes masthead sheave friction from the equation in the same way that a Cunningham does.
 
sailorman said:
Not if one watches the luff tension & sail camber all the time. Much easier to adjust if all halyards are lead aft.
Click to expand...



Ah ha! We may be going in circles here, because by starting out right, I don't see any signs that I need to adjust the luff tension independently of the forestay tension which I can alter with the backstay to shift the draught. I don't get over or under tension creases in the luff of the genoa through the full range of backstay adjustment and can shape the sail as I please. Is there some extra refinement to be had that I'm overlooking?

Besides, I already tweak everything else almost constantly. If I had another string to fiddle with I'd never get round to having a beer or actually driving the bus. Besides besides, I'm fresh out of clutches aft, so I'd have to lose the cunningham from the cockpit to bring the genny halyard aft, and I feel that the cunningham is a more useful tool to have to hand.
 
Using the backstay to tension the foresail luff is not a tactic that I've heard of before.

Normal practise is to adjust backstay for mast control, luff tensions for sail control.
 
Google Handybilly
Clap one onto the halliard tail with a rolling hitch, tighten and reset the jammercleat. Cheaper than a winch and pad
 
boguing said:
Using the backstay to tension the foresail luff is not a tactic that I've heard of before.

Normal practise is to adjust backstay for mast control, luff tensions for sail control.
Click to expand...
The forestay / backstay adjuster do one job the genoa halliard quite another

The OP has a 35ft boat he must​ ​ use a winch to obtain correct luff tension, i use a Lewmar 40
 
Last edited:
I completely agree with Sailorman on all this; a halliard winch is essential for a 35' boat, and detensioning the halliard at the end of day is kind to the sail, being able to reduce tension in lighter airs will give a better set than leaving it tight all season.

I use the backstay tensioner to assist a straight headsail luff, it's a common practice and works well.
 
It is a furler.
I'm very minded to put a winch onto the mast. I do like to adjust the halliard (esp in lighter airs) and having to ffaf about sweating the halliard to re-tension is a pain. I'm also not convinced that I do get enough tension on it for anything like a blow either. The halliard used to be run aft, but a new mast (don't ask...) and a subsequent conversion from in-mast furling to conventional forced a complete deck re-layout the upshot was the genoa halliard was relegated from the cockpit in favour of reef lines (1,2 tack and leech), main halliard, spin halliard, pole uphaul & kicker. Adding additional deck hardware to support the additional line will be very difficult.
 
Sea_Spray said:
It is a furler.
I'm very minded to put a winch onto the mast. I do like to adjust the halliard (esp in lighter airs) and having to ffaf about sweating the halliard to re-tension is a pain. I'm also not convinced that I do get enough tension on it for anything like a blow either. The halliard used to be run aft, but a new mast (don't ask...) and a subsequent conversion from in-mast furling to conventional forced a complete deck re-layout the upshot was the genoa halliard was relegated from the cockpit in favour of reef lines (1,2 tack and leech), main halliard, spin halliard, pole uphaul & kicker. Adding additional deck hardware to support the additional line will be very difficult.
Click to expand...
An Oceanis 351 would have come from new with a Genoa & main halliard. As i stated earlier are you using the correct line for the sail
 
I'd rate a spin halliard as much lower priority than that for the genoa; the latter being used far more often and more in need of tensioning, also a spin halliard at the mast can be handy when dealing with the sail short handed...
 
sailorman said:
An Oceanis 351 would have come from new with a Genoa & main halliard. As i stated earlier are you using the correct line for the sail
Click to expand...
You're correct about the initial clayout but a furling main uses fewer lines than a conventional one. The deck hardware layout is different on O351's shipped with a conventional main. The main reason that the Gen. halliard was relegated to the mast (from the cockpit) was beause I didn't want single line reefing so 4 clutches are used for reefs 1 & 2.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top