Halyards - do you get what you pay for?

[skyflyer]

Time to replace some halyards and I am bewildered by the variety of materials and manufacturers available.

So, do you get what you pay for, with companies like Kingfisher or Marlow, or can I buy with confidence from an online eBay seller, offering "stock left over from LBS" which is correct length with convenient spliced eye and thimble.

Perhaps I should add that I don't race or look for maximum performance if it is at the expense of comfort!

If its half the price but I have to replace it twice as often, that is fine by me; if it's half the price but I have to replace 3 times as often, then no!

 

[sailorman]

Bought dyneema on the bay so much cheaper at the time

 

[dunedin]

I have bought Cruising Dyneema off eBay. Seemed better deal than basic rope at a chandlery for most purposes - although for absolute best performance (eg on a performance boat main halyard) I would go for full spec branded Lyros or Marlow Dyneema - at double the price.
Not sure how to easily test and confirm it is a dyneema core in the eBay stuff?

 

[richardbrennan]

I think it should be easy enough to tell if the eBay stuff is Dyneema or not once you have it. I replaced my main and genoa halyard with it and there is no elasticity in them at all.

 

[Tranona]

If you are wanting braid on braid then suggest you buy reel ends from Marinescene at typically less than £1 a metre, or if you are doing a lot then buy a 100m reel which will get you 3 halyards. Don't bother with spliced eyes but use a halyard knot - instructions on the Selden website and no doubt other sources.

 

[duncan99210]

I've bought unbranded polyester braid on braid off eBay for my halyards and genoa sheets. No problems with them at all and well cheaper than the local chandlers. The only time I've bought branded ropes I also bought via eBay, again cheaper but mainly because they could supply the colours I wanted.

 

[SteveSarabande]

marinescene are great for end of reel bargains

 

[Poignard]

Is a halyard knot ok for Dyneema?

 

[skyflyer]

Thought I'd get some specs from the horse's mouth - in this case the horse was Kingfisher ropes. This is what they told me about stretch:-

Braid-on-Braid 3.7% at 20% of breaking load (which for 10mm is 2300kg)
Kingbraid, 3.2% (BL 2700kg)
Cruising Dyneema 2.8% (BL 3400kg)

So assuming some linearity around that level, on a 30 metre halyard, with a load of say 500kg, the percentage stretch in each would be

Braid-on-braid, 3.9% = 1.17m
Kingbraid, 2.9% = 0.87m
Dyneema cored braid = 2.1% = 0.63m

Not quite sure what that means in the real world, it strikes me that the Kingbraid looks like a good compromise for the price.

 

[jonjo]

I had the benefit of a long conversation with a highly respected UK sail maker as my new Furlex was installed this week. He warned about cut price dyneema with under sized core hidden inside the external braid.

 

[PotatoNavigator]

Have had good experience with English Braids

 

[Javelin]

Plus 1 for English Braids, who interestingly are owned by the same holding group as Marlow ropes though for what ever reason they compete against each other.

On a cruising or cruise/racer I'd go for Cruising dyneema on the Main Halyard, not because you want to wind up the tension but to stop the halyard stretching when main sheet and kicker loads are applied.

Jib halyard on a furler spar I'd go with cruiser dyneema again but could get away with braid on braid as the luff does not need to be very tight, we see too many owners over tension jib and staysail halyards.
You can tweak the halyard a little when starting to get over powered as this will de-power a little, which will delay you having to wind in a couple of rolls on the furler.

Braid on braid for Spinny halyards as non stretch is not really required.
Bare in mind that not only is braid on braid cheaper its much easier to splice. (Does not apply to Marlow Braid which I'd avoid)

With Braid on Braid remember that 50% of the strength is in the cover and 50% in the core.
With Dyneema 95% of the strength is in the core and 5% in the cover.
I think in Cruiser dyneema its 75% core and 25% cover.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Braid-on-Braid 3.7% at 20% of breaking load (which for 10mm is 2300kg)
Kingbraid, 3.2% (BL 2700kg)
Cruising Dyneema 2.8% (BL 3400kg)



Braid-on-braid, 3.9% = 1.17m
Kingbraid, 2.9% = 0.87m
Dyneema cored braid = 2.1% = 0.63m

Last year I replaced my old wire/double braid main halyard. It is now Liros Regatta 2000 8mm and my only regret is not having gone the Dyneema route before.

The breaking load is given at 3800daN and the working load elongation is <1.5%

The boat is a Centurion 32.