Untangling halyards in a stepped mast

[tmtracey]

Is there any way of untangling a halyard inside a mast without taking it down?

It is running ‘okay’ but I can hear it rubbing on something inside the mast just above the gooseneck.

 

[KevinV]

Endoscope and a coat hanger?

 

[tmtracey]

I do have a cheaposh endoscope I could try.

There is no access except through the sheaves at the bottom of the mast. This is about 2 metres below where it is running. I can take out the sheaves for better access.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I do have a cheaposh endoscope I could try.

There is no access except through the sheaves at the bottom of the mast. This is about 2 metres below where it is running. I can take out the sheaves for better access.

Do you have a mast gate?

 

[JBPa]

if you replace your halyards with thin messengers, it is easier to untangle them and then pull the halyards back in. It's hard with the mast up though.

 

[tmtracey]

Do you have a mast gate?

Yes, it is a sprung one in the old Kemp mast. See photo. Would this be removable and provide access into the mast?

 

[tmtracey]

if you replace your halyards with thin messengers, it is easier to untangle them and then pull the halyards back in. It's hard with the mast up though.

Good shout. Strangely this noise has only started this season after I replaced the halyard over the winter. I followed the old one through with a mousing line so any tangle must have already been there.

 

[Praxinoscope]

I have been troubled with exactly the same problem, I thought the main/topping lift halyards were tangled as the tension was excessive when hauling them.
I used a drainpipe/endoscope to see what was going on inside the mast, I moused the main halyard and removed the sheave to improve access then hauled the endoscope up, there was no tangle visible but when the 'camera reached the top sheaves it was obvious that the sheave was siezed, so it's a trip up the mast with a screwdriver, water pump pliers and lots of WD-40.
It's not easy to control the endoscope camera when it's 10m up the mast and the limited depth of field means that the exact item you want to look at is seen at it's best but the images are adequate, see the attachment, this shows inside the top of the mast and the sheaves.

 

[Sandy]

I'd suggest a proper lubricant rather than WD40.

 

[Praxinoscope]

I'd suggest a proper lubricant rather than WD40.

As long as I can free them off for the rest of the season WD-40 should do the job, the mast is coming down over the Winter when I shall fully service the top end and replace the sheaves.

 

[Refueler]

I'd suggest a proper lubricant rather than WD40.

In fact no lubricant - just a thorough clean of the sheave and its surroundings.

Lubricant can actually attract / keep crud in place and lead to seizure again ... WD40 especially can do that ...

I really do suggest not to rely on WD40 .. ok to get it first moving ... clean out the crud ... but not as the lubricant.

 

[tmtracey]

It’s not the sheaves as I was up the mast the other day and they turn easily. Anyone know if I’d have access into the mast by removing the mast gate?

It does feel a bit excessive but would be good to know that could be an option if all else fails.

Will probably thread the endoscope up first to see what is going on.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Yes, it is a sprung one in the old Kemp mast. See photo. Would this be removable and provide access into the mast?View attachment 158589

Yes it's removable and would give you a better idea of what's going on.

 

[tmtracey]

Yes it's removable and would give you a better idea of what's going on.

Brilliant, thanks. Would never have thought to do that.

 

[awol]

Yes it's removable and would give you a better idea of what's going on.

Yes, removeable, but on my mast with the same gate it offers no access.

 

[Praxinoscope]

I wasn't suggesting in #8 that it was the sheaves in this case, I was sort of promoting the option of a running an endoscope camera up the mast to identify the problem, which is half the battle.

 

[tmtracey]

I wasn't suggesting in #8 that it was the sheaves in this case, I was sort of promoting the option of a running an endoscope camera up the mast to identify the problem, which is half the battle.

Yes sure, thanks for the tip. Just didn’t want to drift too far down the ‘to Wd40 or not’ route, useful as that advise is!
I have used an endoscope to see if I had a leak in the roof cavity which turned out just to be lots of condensation (Sadler 29- with the insulated walls but not roof). Im hoping o can pull the camera up from the foot of the mast rather than come down from the top.

 

[Praxinoscope]

I moused and removed the topping lift and used the mousing line to haul up the endoscope, working on the principle that if the main halyard and topping lift were wrapped then so would the mousing line, I did have to remove the sheaves from the bottom of the mast to get the endoscope into the mast but once in it travelled up smoothly. (Sadler 25 by the way).

 

[Snowgoose-1]

I've decided to move my main halyard to an external position. My earlier boats were all outside.

 

[tmtracey]

Anybody tried using magnets to untangle them? Imagine you’d need a fairly strong one to be effective.