Redroland
New member
Is there a convention as to the colour of halyard for Gen. 1, 2, Main 1, Spinnaker etc?
Halyard convention
- Thread starter Redroland
- Start date
G
Guest
Guest
Katoema has just undergone a major refit, with a complete replacement of standing and running rigging. These masts (ketch) were taken to Port du Crouesty on the West coast of France. With twin for'stays, inner stay, thus 3 fore halyards, spinnaker and separate boom, main halyard, topping lift, twin boom lifts etc and thats 9 different halyards or downhauls. The Mizzen halyard, plus stay sail between masts and the topping lift, thats another 3. The colours are yellow, blue, red, green etc. More like a rainbow but the halyards for the twin stays are red and green (port/stbd), inner stay blue topping lift is red, lots of yellows, green and reds and blues for the others.
With a sail locker of 13 sails, is there really a convention!!!
With a sail locker of 13 sails, is there really a convention!!!
ccscott49
Active member
I have yellow for topping lifts, main, mizzen and boom forestay. Blue for halyards main, mizzen and staysail. Red and green for yankee /genoa/chute halyards, (Red for roller yankee, one green for the rest) actually port and stb aswell. Red and green for port & starboard spinny pole topping lifts. Red furry for barber haulers/pole downhauls. Blue furry for yankee sheets, black for furling, red furry for staysail sheets, blue furry for mizzen sheets. Blue and red for 1 & 2 reefs at boom, blue furry for main sheets. I think thats about it for main running rigging, but theres others, such as mizzen staysail halyard/blue etc. Amazing I can remember them all. The only convention I can remember is the main halyard is meant to be on the stb side of the mast, I think!! This is all for a cutter headed bermudan ketch. All halyards are blue all topping lifts yellow. Any help? Thought not!!!
G
Guest
Guest
Is there really a convention, or a selfmade one? When hemp type rope and made made materials were the norm, each vessel kept there own convention, as there were no colours. No doubt that with all your running rigging, the most import aspect is that you, as skipper, know what they are and what their respective functions are for. In turn you brief your crew accordingly. Your vessel is being fitted out/managed as you would like it, and for me that is the way I like it. Never been the one to follow the tread mill, always trying new things.
If you would like to bounce other things off me, as a sounding block, please contact direct on cruising@mpcee.co.uk.
If you would like to bounce other things off me, as a sounding block, please contact direct on cruising@mpcee.co.uk.
ccscott49
Active member
I rerigged my boat, and knowing I would often have inexperienced crew, I thought it might be a good idea to haver them colour coded, so I could say "pull the small blue one, please" but uit actually didn't work that well. As you say I don't think there is a convention, as rope used to be all the same colour!
G
Guest
Guest
The vessel's equipment handbooks are all in German, but the French prefer to negotiate changes to the her in French or English, which is good. From May until November I will be having different German crew to sail her around the Biscay. Unless they are colour blind I shouldn't have a problem!
vyv_cox
Well-known member
I tried to organise mine logically, so have main halyard, topping lift, vang and both single line reefing pennants on port side and spinnaker halyard, pole uphaul and downhaul on starboard. These sides were dictated by Kemp, who set up the mast that way. I have one genoa halyard on one side and one the other.
So far as colour is concerned, I found many years ago that going into a chandler asking for 12 mm, red and white, 16 plait, was doomed to failure - that's always the one they don't have. Now I have a wide variety of colours, just make sure they are all different.
So far as colour is concerned, I found many years ago that going into a chandler asking for 12 mm, red and white, 16 plait, was doomed to failure - that's always the one they don't have. Now I have a wide variety of colours, just make sure they are all different.
G
Guest
Guest
I believe that in less complicated times it was..
Blue for Genoa
Red for Spinnaker
White for main
Solid colour for sheets and fleck for halyards.
Sounds easy! But the amount of controls used and the colour availability especially for high tech cordage blows it apart in practical terms.
Maybe the boats from the RNSA would be the only ones rigged that way!?
Blue for Genoa
Red for Spinnaker
White for main
Solid colour for sheets and fleck for halyards.
Sounds easy! But the amount of controls used and the colour availability especially for high tech cordage blows it apart in practical terms.
Maybe the boats from the RNSA would be the only ones rigged that way!?
brian_neale
New member
Convention? Isn't that where the phrase "learning the ropes" came from? Major problem on the old square riggers that makes even a gaff ketch look easy! I believe that there was some convention about where the different lines were belayed, to help new crew "learn the ropes" more quickly when moving from ship to ship.
On gaff rig, there are two schools of thought about even something as basic as the main halyards. I think that the East coast boats are rigged with one halyard each side of the mast, and West country boats with both on the starboard side (so they are easy for one man when hove to on starboard tack). However, the combinations of multiple foresail halyards, some of which may be double-ended, plus the optional topsail halyard, sheet, maybe downhaul, etc, makes any convention unlikely. Having a belaying pin per line and always making off halyards to the same place is the best you can do. Boats that I have sailed on with halyards and other lines led aft usually have a jammer per line with its name on - that sounds the most useful way to do it. I seem to remember one boat with labels on the mast where each line emerged. The important point to remember then is not to sail at night unless your crew can read in the dark!
On gaff rig, there are two schools of thought about even something as basic as the main halyards. I think that the East coast boats are rigged with one halyard each side of the mast, and West country boats with both on the starboard side (so they are easy for one man when hove to on starboard tack). However, the combinations of multiple foresail halyards, some of which may be double-ended, plus the optional topsail halyard, sheet, maybe downhaul, etc, makes any convention unlikely. Having a belaying pin per line and always making off halyards to the same place is the best you can do. Boats that I have sailed on with halyards and other lines led aft usually have a jammer per line with its name on - that sounds the most useful way to do it. I seem to remember one boat with labels on the mast where each line emerged. The important point to remember then is not to sail at night unless your crew can read in the dark!
