Knock knock. Who's there? Halyards.

[capta]

I believe it is very poor seamanship to allow one's halyards to slap the mast. In the first place, the halyard is chafing on the mast and will wear out faster. I also damages the finish on the mast, over time. More maintenance and expense, never mind the noise.
Every one of our stanchions has two supporting metal pieces fore and aft that can be used for attaching blocks (roller furler), or snatch blocks. We just take the halyards forward to two stanchion bases and they are far from the mast and cannot make noise. If we had a main halyard it could also go to one of these, aft of the mast.
Silence is golden.

 

[jon hansen]

the noise clearly bothers some. being polite to your neighbors is the way to go for sure. that said, the halyard chafing by slapping the mast is an old wife's tale in my opinion. 58 years of sailing, well over 1,000,000 miles at sea i have never seen such chafing. i pay attention to such things. when i went to school for ropes and wires and cables, they never said such things. no riggers have said such.

enlighten me if i'm wrong, i'm curious

the issue is simple. the noise bothers some. tie off the halyards in a crowded area.

 

[jon hansen]

this is where i went to school
https://www.samselsupply.com/history.html

 

[MikeHoncho]

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

Ok. Especially when that "other" neighbor is about to impact your boat trying to dock..... got it, let it happen.

 

[Ron20324]

enlighten me if i'm wrong,

You're wrong. Anytime two objects meet when moving, one of them will wear off. My slip neighbor seldome came to his boat. A halyard had been swinging around, against the steaming/deck light until halyard was thin as string. I guess he never looked up. I pointed it out. Next time there, he had a new halyard.

 

[jon hansen]

 

[jssailem]

this is where i went to school

Looks like a great alma mater.

 

[capta]

enlighten me if i'm wrong, i'm curious[/ QUOTE]
Just cause you asked sooo nicely and I could shoot this right out the hatch above me.
This goes all the way up the mast. Story is, when the PO lost his leg in a motorcycle accident, none of his family, friends or even the boatyard/marina personnel could be troubled to tie the halyards away from the mast. At least I got new halyards when I bought the boat, but getting the mast painted wasn't as high on my list. I can't even imagine the shape the halyards were in if they did this much damage to the paint!

 

[jon hansen]

fair enough, i'm mistaken, i'll be wiser now.

 

[cmonroe54]

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

So...

We should just let you sink? Or buy a new dock for the marina?

 

[capta]

[ QUOTE="cmonroe54, post: 1463083, member: 121078"]So...

We should just let you sink? Or buy a new dock for the marina?[/QUOTE]
No, but you should contact the marina office which should have a contact number for the owner, as well as numbers for professionals, not some passing stranger trying to be nice, thanks.

 

[capta]

Ok. Especially when that "other" neighbor is about to impact your boat trying to dock..... got it, let it happen.

I have drummed into all my crew over the years to use a fender or anything other than a body part to fend off a couple of boats about to collide. A boat can easily be repaired, some injuries can't. I certainly don't think hopping on a stranger's boat, finding and untieing a fender from wherever and attempting to get to the point of impact in time would be too helpful.

 

[Will Gilmore]

I can completely appreciate your point you are trying to make Capta. The others are being purposely obtuse to try and make their point too. The thread is about halyard slap and, by extension, marina etiquette. Of course there are exceptional circumstances. I prefer to not have to think about or deal with trespassing issues or liability claims, but I also wish to be a member of a kind and considerate community that has my well-being in mind too. If I am inadvertently inconsiderate of my neighbors, I invite my neighbors to correct the problem without elevating their feelings towards me to some level of animosity. I also recognise that my neighbors may not feel the same way, so, I will be looking to you too provide the life jackets if I ever come onboard your boat because, unless there is a tweak emergency, you will have too invite me aboard. Then, I would happily be a guest of yours or any other SBO member.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[cmonroe54]

Thank you, Will, for that well articulated, balanced reply.

There was a boat I passed on the dock that had gotten trapped under the fixed dock by a rising tide. A life line support was already broken and the mast was headed for the rigging in the next slip. I headed for the office and the dock master was still there. Had she been gone I would have done something on my own.

My boat was rocking heavily at the dock. The boom was as secure as I knew how but was still swinging too much. I was new. A fellow boater came by and started berating me for the boom and ordered me in how to secure it. I listened to what he said in secured the boom. The next day he volunteered that he’d been a little hard on me. I thanked him again for his advice. I’d improved my seamanship and gained a friend.

 

[Kermit]

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.

Do I need to repost my osprey poop picture?

 

[bawlmer]

I always tie off my halyards and expect others to do the same, which they almost always do.

 

[IH82BL8]

Ok, I'm weird. I like the sound.

 

[pateco]

I remember hearing this sound my whole life from the Hobie Cats pulled up and stored on the beach by my house. Halyards slapped like mad in the ocean breeze. Slapping in an occupied anchorage or marina, is another story.

 

[jwing]

If everybody in a marina fixed all their halyards, what annoying sounds would emerge? Would there be multiple threads started by people complaining about dock lines rubbing and groaning? Or perhaps dock mates rubbing and moaning?

 

[jon hansen]

you asked, the answer is air conditioning left on while no one is on the vessel. this is annoying to many. the water discharge noise.
me, i sleep like a baby either way.