Wierd Halyard noise.

[Norman_E]

I am very annoyed by any frapping halyard and tie off everything that might possibly cause a problem every time I come into dock. I have however had a halyard noise that I simply could not stop after I removed all the actual halyards and replaced them with mouseing lines. Inside the boat I could hear an almost constant frapping on a windy night. Outside I could not find any line hitting on anything, but with my ear close to the mast it was obvious that at least one mouseing line was frapping inside the mast.

I tried slackening them, I tried loosening them, but nothing stopped it. Eventually I stuck gaffer tape over all of the halyard entry holes that I could reach to try and stop the wind blowing inside the mast. It was not a total cure as there are holes I could not reach, but made it better.

 

[GrahamD]

This may not be a halliard, but may be an electrical cable run down inside the mast, - VHF, wind instruments or nav lights. My boat has the same problem , and I'm looking for a solution

 

[Norman_E]

I did wonder about the cables but when the mast was down I looked inside it from the ends and all the cables appeared to be in a conduit. Since this noise only happens with the halyards removed my conclusion was that wind was blowing in through the holes they had occupied, hence my attempt to stop them up with gaffer tape. I could reach two holes, just, and two more by standing on a step stool, but others are out or reach.

 

[Clyde_Wanderer]

This may not be a halliard, but may be an electrical cable run down inside the mast, - VHF, wind instruments or nav lights. My boat has the same problem , and I'm looking for a solution

I fitted cable ties 3 at 120degree phase along the cables inside the mast and they still rattle.
I dont think there is any way to stop it completly.
I now use ear plugs!
C_W

 

[bikedaft]

the inside of our mast is lined with foam. would be hard to "retrofit" tho. about 1cm thickness. a bit raggedy at lower end after 41 years, but otherwise fine.

(dad's boat, electrical cable inside mast does exactly as you describe)

run a conduit down mast whne she's next out water?

 

[DJE]

Tight flag halyards (to the spreaders) sometimes cause a strange singing noise in a breeze. It took me ages to find where it was coming from.

 

[Magaz97]

I have the same problem, my coaxial cable rattles and slaps through the night. Can anyone suggest an in-situ remedy, or is it a mast down job?

Thanks

 

[V1701]

Yes I have the same with coax and electrical cables rattling around inside the mast. It's a nightmare at anchor (earplugs here again but everybody else gets it as well) but thankfully don't get it in the marina (I live on the boat). I've heard three remedies - using conduit, using cable ties and another method of using a long fishing wire or similar with collars attached at intervals and pulled down over the offending wires/cables. If the top of the mast comes off and there's scope at the base then probably any of these could conceivably be done with the mast in place but (obviously) a damned sight easier with it on the ground. Why people don't do it properly first time around I don't really know. I found it doubly annoying as I bought boat with mast down and only realised when I stepped aboard for the first time after mast had been put back on...

 

[Searush]

You could try pumping builder's foam thro a tube about 1/3 the way up the mast & the same 1/3 down by using a spray can with a poly tube over the end to get it far enough along the mast.

It may or may not work, but I'll bet it stops you putting any more wires/ cables down the mast! It should however change the "ring" of the mast & deaden the sound even if it doesn't stop it happening.

 

[Magaz97]

It may or may not work, but I'll bet it stops you putting any more wires/ cables down the mast! It should however change the "ring" of the mast & deaden the sound even if it doesn't stop it happening.

Absolutely! Lesson learned.

 

[Vara]

Mystery noises from rigging, all of the suggestions above plus;

I had a periodic boom boom noise from the rigging, tightened and frapped everything I could see, still going on. Eventually traced to forum burgee which was just the right length to pluck the shroud, half masted it, problem solved.

 

[GlennG]

Its possible to drill a hole in the mast and push through a bent 'U' clip through to clip the wire to the side of the mast. Fiddly - use some stiff wire to fish for the wire. I have this on my mast.

 

[NormanS]

I am very annoyed by any frapping halyard .

I may be wrong here, (yes it has happened), but is "frapping" not one of the methods used to stop halliards etc from banging against the mast? I normally rig "preventers", but some use a frapping line, i.e. a line wrapped round others.

I do take your point - it is f-----g annoying.

 

[Simondjuk]

There's a very simple fix which sometimes works. Take your spinnaker halyard to somewhere where it can't slap against anything, such as the pulpit or bow fitting, and leave just a little slack in it. The slack and soft run of line inside the mast is sometimes enough to break or at least damp the movement of the cables as they strike it. If all the halyards are all bar taught up the inside of the mast, the cables will just bounce of them unchecked and strike the inside of the mast more forcefully. The cables in my mast only slap very occassionally, but when they do the above often silences them. A little experimentation with the halyard tension may be required to get the desired effect.

 

[st599]

I may be wrong here, (yes it has happened), but is "frapping" not one of the methods used to stop halliards etc from banging against the mast? I normally rig "preventers", but some use a frapping line, i.e. a line wrapped round others.

I do take your point - it is f-----g annoying.

Frapping is a method of tightening knots or lashings, hence frapping mallet.