Ooops - halyard lost!

[Abigail]

This may never happen to other people, but we've had an interesting time this spring getting our rigging back on as a number of our messenger lines got shredded by mistral (or otherwise lost due to attention failures when taking the lines off). So - how do you get a halyard back on when it runs inside the mast?

We took a p[iece of the weighted line that you use inside net curtains and made a short plait. Inserted into the plait was a heavy, small nut. This must be small enough to go over your sheaves. The plait need not be more than six inches long. Attach your plait very securely with sewn through whipping twin to a good messenger line twice the height of your mast.

Climb mast. (If you have lost every heavy halyard/messenger, this is a seperate challenge!) Feed your weighted end over the sheave and into mast, gradually feeding it down again.

At the bottom, take a wire clothes hanger and bend into a hook. Tape the business end so it cannot snag. Use hook to pull out messenger through relevant slot in mast.

Attach halyard to other end of messenger and pull through mast. All the usual caveats about attaching these strongly (preferably sewn) apply, as discussed on another recent thread.

Sometimes it takes two goes to make sure the weighted end drops properly through obstructions, but it gets there in the end.

Wehave to thank Zigmundo Van Dog of this parish for suggesting (and indeed supplying!) the netting weights. We used a small nut, but a fishing sinker would do if you had one small enough. It works! All lines are now reinstated. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[William_H]

One trick which may be usefull is at the bottom to use a loop of wire insted of a hook. If you can shove it in the hole at the bottom and get the loop to open out to fill much of the mast diameter then the messenger weight must drop through the hook. This makes it very positive in pulling the loop out with the string through it..

I have a fractional rig and when losing the jib or spin. halyard have been able to remove the pulley box for the jib or spin halyard which exposes the main halyard. This can be hooked out enough to tape the new halyard to it and so pull the new halyard through. This is particularly useful if the mast is down (not vertical).

All good stuff but best not to lose the halyard in the first place. The last time it happened to me a helpfull soul had attached the jib with a not quite correct bowline on the halyard. (I don't use a shackle) the jib went up ok but on applying some tension the knot let go and the halyard disappeared into the mast. I can lower the mast fairly easily so had it replaced in an hour or so. olewill

 

[Jonny_H]

I have one of the grabber tool things:

These are good for getting the mousing lines out of the sheaves at the bottom of the mast. (amongst many other jobs on board!)

Jonny

 

[Adamastor]

I had to get a halyard through a J22 mast, and I found big cable-ties also work very well. You have to feed them through the sheave-box at the mast-base to make the lassoo, but they open out superbly to catch itinerant mouse-lines. I always weight the line (whipping-twine or, latterly, gamefishing FireWire) with a steel nut so I can use Adamastor's Patent Nutcatcher- a tiny little neodymium magnet from the inside of a kid's toy glued onto a piece of coathanger-wire. You feed the APN into the exit-hole and the nut finds the wire quite easily!

 

[cnh]

I once saw a rigger use a length of bicycle chain, to which he tied the line before lowering it down the mast.

 

[lw395]

I used about 20 nuts threaded onto the line.
A useful trick is to make sure the boat is heeling a little so that the mouse slides down the side of the mast without wrapping around other halyards etc. Make sure the others are tight.
I hope not to do this again, I will use heavier mouse lines when taking halyards out!