Halyard advice sought

[rjp]

Hi,

I need to replace my main halyard which is 5mm wire running onto a drum winch. I doubt that I can go up in diameter at all because the drum, which is semi-enclosed, is already pretty full when the mainsail is fully hoisted.

Am I stuck with replacing with wire or is there a suitable 5mm rope which could do the job?

 

[lw395]

You use a similar size dyneema.
Whether it will be as robust in terms of Chafe and UV is something you will get diverse opinions on.
A starting point might be to work out if the halyard is the right size to start with.

 

[rob2]

Dyneema would do the job, but may cost more than the wire - probably does - and would ideally entail changes to the sheaves and winch which are profiled for wire. I guess the wire is permanently fastened to the winch drum?

Rob.

 

[wklein]

Dyneema will be about the same price as wire for a given diameter. It will be stronger and will last longer than wire unless it chafes. It is pretty good with chafe on the whole. As previous person said worn alloy sheaves at the top could shorten its life dramatically.

Not a big fan of reel winches on the hole (I think my boss cracked a couple of ribs with one when clutch released while he was winching on large boat). Might be worth a look on ebay for some second hand standard winches as your replacing halyard at the same time.

 

[rjp]

Thanks all. I didn't know whether it was possible to get rope that thin to do the job. The wire is attached to the drum by a set screw so can be removed quite easily.

 

[Norman_E]

Thanks all. I didn't know whether it was possible to get rope that thin to do the job. The wire is attached to the drum by a set screw so can be removed quite easily.

Either replace with wire or be prepared to replace the winch and the masthead sheave. The latter, grooved for wire, will probably ruin the dyneema rope in short order, and you cannot secure a dyneema rope with a setscrew without it risking tearing out, unless it has several turns on the drum before any real load is applied.