Threading reefing lines down the boom without a mouse

[Judders]

Any neat tricks? Best idea I can come up with is whipping twine onto a bolt that'll fit through the clutch and hoping gravity does the rest.

 

[MoodySabre]

Should be alright if you haven't got balance blocks in the boom.

On mine you take the pin out that holds the sheaves at the aft end and that gives you a good chance to pull the mouse then the ropes through and then you replace the sheaves.

 

[KREW2]

I had to do this last year in Yarmouth. After several failed attempts I went to the chandlers, it is a real aladins cave, they sell anything from darts flights to radars. Anyway I bought a very thin 5mtr drain rod type thingy for £2. 50 it did the job a treat.

 

[lw395]

The steel wire, plastic coated stuff sold for garden use?

 

[fireball]

Worked for me .....

 

[rhumlady]

Curtain wire. Works wonders.

 

[Wunja]

How about an electrician's Fish?

 

[TiggerToo]

I used the longest batten and a short length of wire taped onto the end...

 

[simonfraser]

assuming you have at least one line present:

at the clew end:
lightly tape a thin line to one of the other reefing lines on your boom
leave a loop at the foreward end, past the tape
pull the loop from the clew to the tack end
go fishing with a thin bit of wire at the tack
sounds mad ? worked for me twice !

 

[billcowan]

short offcut of old chain

 

[Marsupial]

a pea shooter and some very light fishing line works for me.

If the boom is big enough a radio controlled car - the miniture ones about 2cm long also do the job.

 

[[10753]]

You can just buy the electricians fish as a coil without all the extras.

I have one - brilliant for feeding wires round pushpits as well.

 

[moondancer]

To do the same on new masts I use old rigging wire.