Messenger lines, (Suitable material for)

[Poignard]

I want to take my halyards home and store for the winter. As the mast is not to be taken down I will have to rig some messenger lines in their place.

I don't have any old halyards I could use so I shall have to buy something suitable. Preferably something cheap but reliable. Any suggestions please?

Would that cheap blue polypropylene rope from Screwfix do? Or might it deteriorate and fail over a winter?

 

[PaulRainbow]

I want to take my halyards home and store for the winter. As the mast is not to be taken down I will have to rig some messenger lines in their place.

I don't have any old halyards I could use so I shall have to buy something suitable. Preferably something cheap but reliable. Any suggestions please?

Would that cheap blue polypropylene rope from Screwfix do? Or might it deteriorate and fail over a winter?

I have a large roll of polypropylene that's been kicking around for years. Check the price against "Ropes and Twines"

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I have a length of very supple 6mm double braid with a strong eye sewn on the end. Anything thinner risks jamming between a sheave and its cheek. I expect it to outlast me.
I would not risk polypropylene because of UV radiation (Malta) and, when it breaks, it would be a major problem because the halyards are internal.

 

[oldbilbo]

I've picked up some packs of 6mm braided poly-line from Aldi - about 30m. each pack - which is cheap, cheerful and wholly up-to-the-job. I'm not the only one...

 

[forelle541]

That cheap blue rope is exactly what I use.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Ropes and Twines (no connection) are less than half the price of Screwfix ; http://www.ropesandtwines.com/products.php?cat=1&scri=5

I really can't see UV degrading it to breaking point in one Winter. We use it as washing line at home and it last years and years.

 

[sarabande]

I'd be tempted to use dyneema fishing line, but the warning about getting thin line jammed between the sheave and the cheek is valid. I suppose if it were well bowsed down, it would be OK. And it's cheap !

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Dyneema-B...60/i.html?clk_rvr_id=1081695795336&rmvSB=true

 

[prv]

Cheapo polyprop single-braid is good because you can insert the real halyard into the middle and add a wrap of tape to easily make a nice smooth transition to pull it in. But any old stuff will do really, I don't buy for a moment the idea that UV will kill it unless you're planning to leave it there for years and years.

Pete

 

[colind3782]

I've picked up some packs of 6mm braided poly-line from Aldi - about 30m. each pack - which is cheap, cheerful and wholly up-to-the-job. I'm not the only one...

Exactly what I use. Comes up regularly at Aldi and Lidl at £4.99 for 30m.

 

[Seajet]

I've picked up some packs of 6mm braided poly-line from Aldi - about 30m. each pack - which is cheap, cheerful and wholly up-to-the-job. I'm not the only one...

+1,

if re-leading a halliard I stitch & whip the line ends together with just enough free play to articulate over sheaves.

For re-leading lost halliards etc it's a diiferent matter, as long as I can get access to the upper mast aperture ( part lowered mast or bosun's chair ) I pay in strong whipping twine with say a few 6mm nuts on the end, so it will drop; then a bent hook like a barbecue skewer or tent peg / garden wire hook can grab it from the lower halliard exit - jiggling the rig & leaning the boat as required - as always a small LED torch is handy.

 

[ex-Gladys]

+1,

if re-leading a halliard I stitch & whip the line ends together with just enough free play to articulate over sheaves.

For re-leading lost halliards etc it's a diiferent matter, as long as I can get access to the upper mast aperture ( part lowered mast or bosun's chair ) I pay in strong whipping twine with say a few 6mm nuts on the end, so it will drop; then a bent hook like a barbecue skewer or tent peg / garden wire hook can grab it from the lower halliard exit - jiggling the rig & leaning the boat as required - as always a small LED torch is handy.

Plastic coated curtain wire is your friend.... 100ft roll from Amazon for about £7, also useful in other areas for pushing through for cables etc....

 

[nigelmercier]

I've bought several rolls of 6 mm x 50 m Polyester Braided Core for £13.99

 

[Poignard]

Plenty of helpful advice there - many thanks :encouragement:

 

[lw395]

I've used 3 strand rope from the pound shop. 100ft for £1. Now you only get 50ft for £1, inflation for you....

 

[Quandary]

Every thing suggested seems heavy to me, our mast was stripped every winter, I have been using line from the same reel of electrician's cord for the last thirty years or so, only about 3mm. thick, polyester so does not rot and so far none have broken, bit of stretch helps to keep them neat and and the individual bits are colour coded to match the halyards for reuse with by wrapping with pvc tape at each end.
I bought a reel of fishermans net line from Gael Force, so cheap I could not resist it, similar qualities and even cheaper but perhaps not quite as strong and maybe more prone to tangle when wound up, have'nt used it yet.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Every thing suggested seems heavy to me, our mast was stripped every winter, I have been using line from the same reel of electrician's cord for the last thirty years or so, only about 3mm. thick, polyester so does not rot and so far none have broken, bit of stretch helps to keep them neat and and the individual bits are colour coded to match the halyards for reuse with by wrapping with pvc tape at each end.
I bought a reel of fishermans net line from Gael Force, so cheap I could not resist it, similar qualities and even cheaper but perhaps not quite as strong and maybe more prone to tangle when wound up, have'nt used it yet.

I've used baling twine (or something very much like it). But that wasn't for over-winter; it was for when I had to re-thread some lines that had been pulled through accidentally.