Halyards

[mick]

I have a wire/rope main halyard on which the rope is badly frayed. Should I replace the whole thing or is it possible to just splice in a new length of rope? Should I replace with wire/rope or rope alone? If rope alone, what is your favoured type? So many questions, so little time.

 

[johnalison]

I had a frayed halyard tail a year before I sold our last boat. A rigger spliced a new rope tail for us (at a price) and it looked fine and was part of our policy of presenting a complete boat for sail. Although I can do rope splices blindfold I wouldn't know where to start with wire-rope. The main consideration for which rope to choose is handling and whether it fits the clutches/cleats.

 

[samwise]

Splicing on a new rope tail ought not be to be a problem, but it would be prudent to examine the wire closely for any signs of loose strands, corrosion etc . Depending on the age of the halyard it might well be worth taking the opportunity to look over the whole setup, checking sheaves for wear. It may be that the fraying has occurred as a result of a damaged sheave in which case there is no point replacing the rope until you have fixed that.

 

[Finbar]

I sail a Sadler 32 and replaced my wire/rope halyard with 10mm dyneema. The masthead sheaves were fine for this and it has been a satisfactory swop

 

[mick]

Thanks, all.
Barry, I think I may try Dyneema.