Sorting lines out

[Traineesailor]

I'm replacing all the ropes on my new-to-me boat but I am unsure what some are for. so I hope someone can help?
There is a pair of sheaves at the top of the mast so I have made the assumption that one will be for main halyard and one for jib halyard.
There is a pulley attached to the rear of the masthead which is for topping lift, and another pulley at the front of the mast head, but I have no idea what that might be for.
There is also a pulley attached to the side of the masthead, and I wondered if that was used maybe for hoisting a dinghy?
There is a spinnaker pole but I don't know how to use that yet so unsure if it needs any lines on.
So, anyone got any ideas about the front and side pulleys? And am I right about the sheaves?

 

[PeteCooper]

Yes you are right about the sheaves and the rear pulley.
If the front pulley is above the forestay it will be for a spinnaker halyard.
The pulley on the side of the mast is for a burgee(flag).

 

[Traineesailor]

If the front pulley is above the forestay it will be for a spinnaker halyard.

I think you are correct and after some googling I think the side pulley is for the spinnaker pole.
Does the spinnaker halyard typically use the same size halyard as the main sail?

 

[PeteCooper]

A pulley for a spinnaker pole uphaul would be much lower down the mast - not at the masthead.
If you are new to sailing I wouldn't bother fitting a spinnaker halyard this year. Get used to sailing with fore and aft sails first. A spinnaker is a brilliant sail, but when it goes wrong it can go wrong big time.

 

[Traineesailor]

A pulley for a spinnaker pole uphaul would be much lower down the mast - not at the masthead.
If you are new to sailing I wouldn't bother fitting a spinnaker halyard this year. Get used to sailing with fore and aft sails first. A spinnaker is a brilliant sail, but when it goes wrong it can go wrong big time.

There are 2 attachments, one on each spreader, which I was told are for hoisting flags and anchor balls, motoring triangles etc.
When I am next at the boat I'll see if there is another pulley lower down for the spinnaker. And yeah I am just learning so a spinnaker isn't on my radar yet.
Thanks for your help so far.

 

[srm]

As a check with identity the spinnaker halyard pulley should be on swivel to give a fair lead and avoid chafe as the sail may pull from on the beam around the stem to the other beam.
I would endorse @PeteCooper that it might be a good idea to delay playing with the spinnaker until you are fully confident handling the boat. It can be a bit disconcerting when one bow wave is off the bow and the other off the stern as the boat is dragged sideways at an alarming angle of heel. (Not my boat, I was a pier head jump crew for the race)

 

[AntarcticPilot]

If I were you, I'd find someone experienced to go out with you for the first few times, to help you set things up and explain how they work.

 

[Traineesailor]

If I were you, I'd find someone experienced to go out with you for the first few times, to help you set things up and explain how they work.

Thanks for the advice. Somewhat unnecessary though as I'm not going sailing, just trying to establish which ropes are which. When I do go out with someone it would be useful if everything is in the right place...right?

 

[scottie]

Thanks for the advice. Somewhat unnecessary though as I'm not going sailing, just trying to establish which ropes are which. When I do go out with someone it would be useful if everything is in the right place...right?

With guesswork maybe maybe not !
if you want to ask at least have the courtesy to consider the answers maybe a result of others having knowledge that you have not yet acquired

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Thanks for the advice. Somewhat unnecessary though as I'm not going sailing, just trying to establish which ropes are which. When I do go out with someone it would be useful if everything is in the right place...right?

There is no real boundary between going sailing and setting up the running rigging. You need to have some idea of how the rig will operate when sailing in order to set it up. That's why I recommend getting an experienced sailor to have a look and advise you. You have had good advice from people here, but that advice is diluted because we can't see what you have, and quite small details such as the exact position of a sheave or block actually do matter.

 

[Traineesailor]

With guesswork maybe maybe not !
if you want to ask at least have the courtesy to consider the answers maybe a result of others having knowledge that you have not yet acquired

I considered the answer but it's the same one I get no matter what I ask. "Get someone to go sailing with." I don't want to go sailing, I want to know that the boat has all the correct lines in the correct places. Why am I discourteous by trying to ensure all the lines are correct?

 

[Traineesailor]

There is no real boundary between going sailing and setting up the running rigging. You need to have some idea of how the rig will operate when sailing in order to set it up. That's why I recommend getting an experienced sailor to have a look and advise you. You have had good advice from people here, but that advice is diluted because we can't see what you have, and quite small details such as the exact position of a sheave or block actually do matter.

There is a huge boundary between knowing all the lines on your boat are present and correct, and how to use them for sailing. That's like going to a driver training lesson without a clutch pedal in the car.
I can tell you anything you need to know or send you photos, but I don't know what you need to know. Hence asking advice. I am not going to throw good money at a sailing trainer just for him to say you have ropes missing. Id love to understand everything before we go. That's how I learn and then I get sailing experience I pay for.
It seems everyone is obsessed with "Pay someone to tell you." I thought that's what forums were for, for people to pass on knowledge and help others out?

 

[scottie]

Why do you assume that we are all out to sabotage you after all not having a clutch pedal is normal in an automatic and just as about as fundamental as wondering whether a halyard attached to your spreader is suitable for uplifting a pole

 

[srm]

Thread drift and replies wandering off at a tangent is all part of forum life, it can be infuriating at times but occasionally leads into other interesting areas.

I understand that you want to get you rig set up correctly. There are many and varied forms of rig and ways of rigging them. What boat do you have? What type of rig? A picture of the mast showing the location of the blocks would help us advise.

Alternatively, I pretty much learnt my sailing and rigging skills from books with diagrams and explanations. OK that's old fashioned, but if you have a basic type of rig a bit of time on the internet may well turn up instructional pages that answer you questions. The Selden mast makers web site has a lot of instructional material on setting up rigs, applicable to spars other than their own, but may be too technical at this stage.

As to size of spinnaker halyard, the same diameter as the main halyard should be OK to handle, though on larger boats it could be lighter. On smaller boats halyards and sheets tend to be sized for ease of handling; a smaller diameter rope may well be strong enough but could be painful to hold and pull.

 

[Traineesailor]

Thread drift and replies wandering off at a tangent is all part of forum life, it can be infuriating at times but occasionally leads into other interesting areas.

I understand that you want to get you rig set up correctly. There are many and varied forms of rig and ways of rigging them. What boat do you have? What type of rig? A picture of the mast showing the location of the blocks would help us advise.

Alternatively, I pretty much learnt my sailing and rigging skills from books with diagrams and explanations. OK that's old fashioned, but if you have a basic type of rig a bit of time on the internet may well turn up instructional pages that answer you questions. The Selden mast makers web site has a lot of instructional material on setting up rigs, applicable to spars other than their own, but may be too technical at this stage.

As to size of spinnaker halyard, the same diameter as the main halyard should be OK to handle, though on larger boats it could be lighter. On smaller boats halyards and sheets tend to be sized for ease of handling; a smaller diameter rope may well be strong enough but could be painful to hold and pull.

Thread drift is great, but so frustrating if people push their agenda without ever addressing your question.
Thanks for mentioning size of halyards. that was another question I was going to be going on to. My main halyard is 12mm but the rest are mostly 10mm apart from the very odd one at 8mm. Looking at them all now I can understand their sizes. I've got 5 more to replace and then my running rigging is completely renewed. (Reefs, vang, outhaul etc) Do many people have a downhaul for the mainsail? I've seen this mentioned several times but I've never seen anyone use one. There certainly wasn't one on my 10 metre boat.
Seldens site is fantastic, but I need more basic info before I can fully absorb everything on there.
90% of what I have learned so far I have googled, Youtube is a most fantastic resource. I hope this forum turns out to be too.

 

[Traineesailor]

A pulley for a spinnaker pole uphaul would be much lower down the mast - not at the masthead.
If you are new to sailing I wouldn't bother fitting a spinnaker halyard this year. Get used to sailing with fore and aft sails first. A spinnaker is a brilliant sail, but when it goes wrong it can go wrong big time.

There is a vertical track on the front of the mast which the spinnaker pole attaches to. That is likely to take the place of a halyard?

 

[Traineesailor]

As a check with identity the spinnaker halyard pulley should be on swivel to give a fair lead and avoid chafe as the sail may pull from on the beam around the stem to the other beam.
I would endorse @PeteCooper that it might be a good idea to delay playing with the spinnaker until you are fully confident handling the boat. It can be a bit disconcerting when one bow wave is off the bow and the other off the stern as the boat is dragged sideways at an alarming angle of heel. (Not my boat, I was a pier head jump crew for the race)

It's likely then that the second sheave is indeed for the jib and the pulley for the spinnaker. It makes sense now thanks

 

[Traineesailor]

Why do you assume that we are all out to sabotage you after all not having a clutch pedal is normal in an automatic and just as about as fundamental as wondering whether a halyard attached to your spreader is suitable for uplifting a pole

You're just arguing not informing, thanks for trying to help.

 

[Traineesailor]

So this is the port side of the mast. The yellow line through the pulley at the rear of the masthead is the topping lift, but it will be swapped for the green line in the port sheave as the topping lift only needs a 10mm line.
The side pulley is a double one and has paracord through just so that I can feed a new line through it later when I determine what it's for.

The red line at the front of the mast is on the starboard sheave and is the main halyard.
The pulley at the front with the blue line is possibly spinnaker halyard?
There is also a pulley hiding behind the radar dome which is below the spreaders.
There's 2 small pulleys attached to the spreaders which I knew were for flags etc and an attachment either side of the mast for lazy jacks.

 

[srm]

Just a thought, I always specify a topping lift the same size as the main halyard, and use a shackle that will fit the mainsail. That way I have a spare main halyard - not that I have ever needed it, but have heard of others having the main halyard chafe through. Also, gives a safety line if having to go up the mast.

The tufnel block on the side with para cord should only be used as a burgee halyard, or similar, as the small eye on the mast will not take any significant load. I do not see any reason for a double block in that position, a small single will be sufficient. (With any boat the previous owners always had some strange ideas).

The block on the front with the blue line is intended for the spinnaker (or spare jib) halyard, however, I suggest changing the block for a swivel block as its movement is limited by the eyes and shackle. I have had a spi halyard jam between the cheek and pulley in a block (when lifting a dinghy) because the block was not free to fully swivel and keep the halyard in line.

Your spinnaker pole track could be for stowing the pole vertically. In which case there should be up and down hauls and a slider for the mast fitting on the track. To stow the mast end of the pole is hauled up the mast and the outboard end lives in a bracket on the mast. A fixed pole topping lift is fitted from a point above the track. To use clip the sheet in the outboard end of the pole and haul the mast end down the track. The outboard end swings up and out supported by the topping lift. If you don't have the fittings described and the track is too short to take the pole vertically you will have to fit the pole manually when needed. The line from below the radar scanner was probably used as the pole topping lift, but like the spi halyard needs to be free to lead out to either side so should really be on a swivel block.

Hope this makes sense.