Replacing Halyards

[jimi]

I'm going to replace my main halyard as its now nearly 3 yo. Whats the best way to do it?
1) short length of thin rope between old & new and pull through
or 2) mouseing line onto old, pull through, mouseing line onto new, pull through
or 3 ) something else?

I'm worried if I do 1) that something will get jammed. Any advice appreciated.

Jim

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[Twister_Ken]

1. only works if you are going to splice the shackle end once the new halyard's in situ. Or if you are going to knot the halyard end (usual on dinghies, but not on cruisers).

More usually a new halyard is pre-eye spliced. This means the unspliced end has to be pulled down the mast. You can't do this with the old halyard unless you cut the splice off before starting. If you want to do this, a good way to join old and new is to lay them so that the two ends butt together, then stitch through them with a sailmaker's needle and whipping twine. Then whip or tape over the join to smooth it - but not enough to stiffen it so that it won't go round the sheeve.

Personally I would use a mouse.

Incidentally, on my halyards I've whipped loops onto the lazy ends, so that mice can just be tied on with a couple of half hitches. Works a treat.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[qsiv]

As a secondary issue would you replace a 3 yo alyard as a matter of course? I don think I would, unless there were other factors such as high localised wear or damage to the core through kinking or some such. Even given the level of use Jimi has mentioned in the past, I wouldnt have expected a halyard to have reached the end of it's service life.

I'd certainly agree about Flemish eyes - I'd always, always put them in.

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[jimi]

Actually I'm installing an uphaul and was going to take the opportunity to replace the main halyard and use it as the uphaul and put a halyard on with a different colour to the reefing lines which are on the same set of spinlock jammers. Agree that the halyard does'nt actually need replacing though.

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[bigmart]

My main Halyard parted the other weekend, in the middle of the Channel about 25 miles out of Cherbourg, it made for an interesting journey home as the Genny blew out at the same time & I had no spare Main Halyard. I'm now looking for a lightweight volunteer to be hoisted up the mast. Any Volunteers?

Martin

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[jimi]

I've got a gas strut but I still keep a topping lift in case I lose or break the main halyard. I've also got a spinnaker halyard that I can use as a spare Genoa. Think its important to have at least 3 halyard type things so that if you lose one and you've got to go up the pole you've got one you can use as a safety line.

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[Boathook]

Whether using a mouse or another halyard I butt them up and tape together using insulating tape. Normally use 2 bits laying along the ropes and then bind over. Seems to take a lot of force to part them once done but I never force this combination just in case ....

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[snowleopard]

i butt the ends together and stitch them so they pass cleanly through the sheaves. only takes a few seconds with a needle and palm and no risk of jamming or parting.

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[ParaHandy]

... would you like some 50lb bs fishing line (for a mouse) ......??!!

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[jimi]

Well I do'nt suppose its much use to you;-)

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[qsiv]

butt <g> this will only work when the new halyad doesnt have an eye splice in it, I would think. I'm sure stitching is ok, - but I'd worry about tape holding. I just popped out and weighed my (old) main halyard in the garage - it was 21 Kg, so thats 10 Kg or so, plus any dynamic loads/snags/tugs. I'd rather trust it to a mouse line as the pain of sorting it out if it did part is just too great to contemplate.

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[tome]

That's the method I use also - just replaced my topping lift and spinnaker halyard.

TomE

24 hours to go....

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[ParaHandy]

aaahhh... but it was ... it WAS .... !!! ???

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[jimi]

Lest ye forget ..

Here's whit McKeral look like

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[gtmoore]

If you decide to pull a mouse through on the old halyard then if it's quite thin (as it needs to be to tie on neatly) make sure you keep it taught at all times. I let one go loose when refitting my mainsheet and it slid down the side of the top pulley. I could still pull the mouse but the attached sheet wouldn't ride back over the pulley so I had to ask someone in the yard very nicely to take a trip up the mast for me.

For what it's worth, I attach my mouse lines to the halyards like this with some insulating tape round the loose bits.

<hr width=100% size=1>Gavin

 

[Mirelle]

I don\'t understand this at all

Why would anyone turn the eyesplice in before reeving off the halyard?

I am another of the "stitch the ends together" persuasion. To be precise, stitch over the whippings, of course.

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[Close hauled]

That's just the way I saw professionla riggers do it - the tape over the join makes it nice and smooth and acts as a back up to the knot.

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[Little_Russel]

Why are you bothering to replace a halyard after only three years?

<hr width=100% size=1>Sail the Se7en seas...

 

[jimi]

See my response to qsiv earlier in the thread.

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