Knock knock. Who's there? Halyards.

[Phil Herring]

Does your boat -- or even worse, your neighbor's boat -- suffer from halyard slap?

While it can sometimes be cured with a simple bungee cord, the solution isn't always so easy on certain rigs. What have you done to find a cure? And what have you done to your dock mates who don't care about their own slap?

 

[Love and Luck]

I was having this discussion with Mrs. Love & Luck at the marina yesterday. To me, it's like a white noise machine. I hear the slap from all the 100s of boats and the waves on the hull and I fall right to sleep.

It's better than camping in the woods where everything is dark and silent and suddenly, a twig breaks nearby and now you're awake for the next two hours wondering what was that and is it dangerous?

Mrs. Love and Luck seems to be okay with the slap too. Or I'm just too asleep to notice.

 

[Justin_NSA]

My wife has said when she hears flagpoles slapping around town it makes her think of the marina

 

[Jackdaw]

Oh no. This was just discussed ad nauseam in the Marina Etiquette thread. Here we go again.....

 

[Meriachee]

Maybe it's time to convert the taco cart to a halyard dispensary.

 

[ToddS]

We just got a new boat with all halyards that run inside the mast, after a lifetime of external halyards that had more/some slapping in the wind. We've only spent a few nights on the boat, and every time my wife has been complained that she misses the sound of the halyards.

 

[Ross S]

I don't mind the sounds of halyards....kind of like nautical wind chimes to me. But I try to be considerate of my marina neighbors who may not feel the same way. On my boat I'm able to keep my halyards quiet by using a bungee cord around shrouds.

 

[RussC]

Great to see this (obviously correct ) side of the coin. We also find the light slapping to be like wind chimes that help us drift off to sleep. we anchor out in private settings however, so no irrational neighbors exist to complain .

 

[Parsons]

In our club, we've got an unwritten rule about halyard slap, and it's OK to board a boat to add a bungee or piece of old line. I've had it done to mine on the occasion that I forgot ... not hard feelings. Now, if I could only find a neighbor that was offended by the bird poop on my deck.

 

[#1sleddog]

Being a noob, I didn't know this was a thing. Fortunately I'm on a mooring away from the docks, so I'm probably not annoying anyone. I'll grab an extra bungee for just that purpose now. Thanks for the heads up

 

[Ron20324]

Being a noob, I didn't know this was a thing. Fortunately I'm on a mooring away from the docks, so I'm probably not annoying anyone. I'll grab an extra bungee for just that purpose now. Thanks for the heads up

If you don't mind the noise bothering your neighbors, then the wear it does to your halyard and mast shouldn't bother you, either.

 

[pateco]

Easiest way I have found to prevent slap is to not store the halyards at the mast. Mine when not sailing are all attached to the toe rail. this prevents them from slapping at all. If you have external halyards, this may not be of use to you since you still have one vertical run of halyard to slap.

You can see my main halyard (white and blue double braid) running to the port rail aft of the stays in these picture.s

When my jib is off the furler, I store the Jib halyard on the bow-rail.

 

[agprice22]

It is a thing. I hate it. I WILL go aboard neighbor’s boats and tie a restrainer. I connect my halyards to my pulpits. I also go aboard boats to tie them off in storms, doubling lines and setting fenders. If I offend someone by forgetting my own halyards, he is welcome aboard to fix it. Why? Because newbies do not do this. Only the veterans worry about other peoples’ boats, so they are welcome aboard mine. If I forget and leave my halyards loose, the regulars take care of each other.

 

[Love and Luck]

Ah, yes. Sailing elitism.

Why the sport is dying.

 

[Love and Luck]

If you don't mind the noise bothering your neighbors, then the wear it does to your halyard and mast shouldn't bother you, either.

eyeroll

 

[agprice22]

I do not think sailing is dying. It evolves, like all else. If you disagree with the attitude of a particular adherent, please particularize. To generalize or globalize and assassinate seems unnecessary and inaccurate.
My experience is that sailors are focused, helpful, curious, excited, and many other positive traits. I would bet you possess all of these as well.

 

[RussC]

Come on my boat uninvited - bring your lifejacket, you will need it.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Why? Because newbies do not do this. Only the veterans worry about other peoples’ boats, so they are welcome aboard mine.

I think that is a very good point and quite true.

Come on my boat uninvited - bring your lifejacket, you will need it.

I love the way you put that. I don't agree with it, but it is not an uncommon position and why I wouldn't stop halyard slap on someone else's boat. However Russ, if you come across Dragonfly in a marina and her halyards are slapping away, please, you are welcome aboard to adjust my halyards and stop the slapping. I also hope you will make a quick survey of my dock lines and fenders. If I see any boat in danger of losing her fastness to a dock or mooring or breaking something from wind or waves. I will do what I can to help, but I won't stop your halyard slap without knowing you want me to. I strongly believe in the Golden Rule. If it is possible I wouldn't want someone to act presumptively against my will, then I won't make presumptions against others.

I love the sound of the chorus of halyards in a marina or even the single boat, but there are the occasional boats that really stand out as loud and discordant. I find that sound makes it hard to think straight. I have problems enough with that.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[TomY]

Does your boat -- or even worse, your neighbor's boat -- suffer from halyard slap?

While it can sometimes be cured with a simple bungee cord, the solution isn't always so easy on certain rigs. What have you done to find a cure? And what have you done to your dock mates who don't care about their own slap?

Many years ago I watched a sailboat return after a year of cruising. The couple were tying up to a mooring next to me. The one thing I remember was watching her tie off the halyards, something she had been doing every night for the last year or so.

With a short length of thin line, she reached up and her hands became a blur for second. Then she moved onto the next one, and did the same thing. Hands a blur - done. Silence.

Being new at the time and with a boat full of bungee cords, it took a bit to realize she was deftly tying clove hitches. No looking for the right bungee, doubling them back, no danger of taking an eye out.

That was it for me. The bungees slowly disappeared.

 

[MitchM]

i use a box of old hair ribons in embarrassing colors, and clove hitch the offending unneighborly halyards in place. i used to use bungees but those got too expensive to gift. my halyards fit nicely onto pad eyes on my deck and rail.