The head sail came detached from the halyard swivel and now it sits up top. Suggestions on how to get it down?
Halyard Swivel stuck at the top
- Thread starter Four Score
- Start date
Climb or drop the mast are the most common ways of dealing with issues at the top of the mast.
BUT! If you have a finger pier you can use….. you can tie off your cleats with a lot of slack so the hull will swing away from the pier and heel your boat over using the other halyard … once you are almost 90deg… you will be able to get at the top of your mast.
ALL of your crap in the boat will shift
BUT! If you have a finger pier you can use….. you can tie off your cleats with a lot of slack so the hull will swing away from the pier and heel your boat over using the other halyard … once you are almost 90deg… you will be able to get at the top of your mast.
ALL of your crap in the boat will shift
Welcome to the forum!
My jib halyard suffered a similar fate while racing this spring. Fortunately my marina has a mast available for such calamities and I was able to climb up and retrieve it. I brought the end of a line with a loop in it up with me and attached it to the shackle, enabling me to pull the halyard back down once I was safely off the marina's mast.
Of course, you will want to address the cause of the failure. In my case it was a cheap quick-release shackle.
My jib halyard suffered a similar fate while racing this spring. Fortunately my marina has a mast available for such calamities and I was able to climb up and retrieve it. I brought the end of a line with a loop in it up with me and attached it to the shackle, enabling me to pull the halyard back down once I was safely off the marina's mast.
Of course, you will want to address the cause of the failure. In my case it was a cheap quick-release shackle.
Great ideas! I guess dropping the mast is possible. I have a derrick that could work, but climbing out may not be safe.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Another rite of passage for a sailor, a halyard at the top of the mast. There are two solutions, take the mast down or send someone up the mast. One preventive measure is to tape the shackles so they don’t release or mouse them which ever way is appropriate for the shackle.
congratulations on meeting this rite.
congratulations on meeting this rite.
I’ve done both, much easier to go up in a bosuns chair than drop the mast.Another rite of passage for a sailor, a halyard at the top of the mast. There are two solutions, take the mast down or send someone up the mast. One preventive measure is to tape the shackles so they don’t release or mouse them which ever way is appropriate for the shackle.
congratulations on meeting this rite.
Whatever you do, do not let the halyard drop down inside the mast!
Interesting problem! I assume the sail is down but the halyard is still up? I would buy 40' of 1/2" pvc pipe. Arrange some sort or noose attachment on one end of a 10' length of the pvc pipe. Arrange some sort of loop that will attach to the pipe, say, every 6' or so. Those loops will slide up the forestay as you push the pipe up while keeping the pipe from sagging. Keep adding loops and pipes (no glue) until your noose reaches the halyard swivel. Catch the swivel with your noose and slide it down. Bring a six pack for company and maybe a victory celebration. 
Good one, Roy.. I might try a "C" shaped piece of heavy wire instead of a loop.. Attach the wire so that the "C" is perpendicular to the pvc.. When the wire reaches the swivel, twist the PVC such that the "C" goes around the swivel.. keep the PVC twisted as you lower the pvc one section at a time and pull the swivel down.. Could happen?
The wire would have to be strong enough to pull the weight of the halyard up the mast and overcome the friction in the masthead sheaves..
The wire would have to be strong enough to pull the weight of the halyard up the mast and overcome the friction in the masthead sheaves..
All great ideas! I think I'll sail with the main tomorrow, then take it all down for the season.
Any thoughts on how to best cover a sailboat for the winter?
Any thoughts on how to best cover a sailboat for the winter?
If you are taking the mast down, do you store it on deck or off the boat? I assume since you are asking, you don't have a cover for the boat. If you are storing the mast on deck, get a heavy duty tarp and drape it over the mast. That's what I did on my 27 footer. I protected things like the steaming light and spinnaker pole fitting with pool noodles tied in place.
If you are storing your mast off the boat you will need to make some kind of structure to hold up the tarp. The good ones are aluminum tubing but I have seen some very solid looking ones made out of wood.
Where can you buy a heavy duty tarp? Yes, we'll be storing it on the boat. We did something wrong last year and ended up with water in the boat. Any other suggestions?
If I felt uncomfortable of going aloft on the main halyard in a proper bosun's chair, then I'd just call a rigger to come down to the boat and do it. He could also check everything aloft for you. The idea of laying a boat over with the mast usually ends up with a broken mast. There are plenty of you-tube videos to back me up on this. It remains yet to be determined why the halyard failed and it might take a bit more that you just retrieving the halyard. Why take the chance for a hundred bucks or so and have a professional take a look?
I'm in Canada so I get tarps from Princess Auto which is the Canadian equivalent to Harbor Freight. If you can find a tarp about 5 to 10 feet longer than your boat and roughly double the beam it should fit. You may need to go bigger and sort out the excess when you put it on. Get 100' of cheap 1/4" rope to tie it down while you are at the store.
You really need a frame so the cover sheds water , snow and ice.
I tried tarps the first winter I owned my O’Day 322. Looked like crap, took a few days to put on, and in general, a pain. Taking all of the wood frame off in the spring was also a mess.
Here I am taking it all down…
After that first winter, I invested in a canvas cover. It wasn’t the most expensive, and I would extend down the sides a bit more, but I am on my 7th season or so, and the cover is still in pretty good shape. My cover uses the boom to support the cover, and a halyard to support the front part. No frame is used.
I have never been a big fan of shrink wrapping…it works well, but seems so wasteful.
Cheers,
Greg
I tried tarps the first winter I owned my O’Day 322. Looked like crap, took a few days to put on, and in general, a pain. Taking all of the wood frame off in the spring was also a mess.
Here I am taking it all down…
After that first winter, I invested in a canvas cover. It wasn’t the most expensive, and I would extend down the sides a bit more, but I am on my 7th season or so, and the cover is still in pretty good shape. My cover uses the boom to support the cover, and a halyard to support the front part. No frame is used.
I have never been a big fan of shrink wrapping…it works well, but seems so wasteful.
Cheers,
Greg
An update: We had our last race yesterday and someone organized a mast climb to reach the swivel! We attached the sail correctly, much better than before, went to start the engine and it failed! Onto another issue, but I much appreciate the responses to my original question! I like the canvas cover idea, did you have it made or do they make them to order for my boat?
My motor issue seems to have some electrical issues related to it. Meaning the batteries are charged but there's a short somewhere we think.
ANY ideas on where to start looking?
My motor issue seems to have some electrical issues related to it. Meaning the batteries are charged but there's a short somewhere we think.
ANY ideas on where to start looking?
Let's start a new thread with this question. It will likely draw more responses from knowledgeable folks. Begin with a more detailed description of the issue, what brand of diesel? Does it turn over? and so on.
Winter lay up with the mast stepped is always an invitation to water. More so with a keel stepped mast. Driven rain will find its' way into the bilge. The shrouds will also pass water. Deck stepped rod rigged boats stand the best chance of denying water under the cover.