Halyard headache

[Scottie]

Hello all! Here's what's up. The jib halyard on my Hunter was severed by a sharp edge of my furling foil. I need to run a new halyard through the mast and I have been unsuccessful. I tried the "kite string with the lead weights apparatus" and apparently it got fouled on the way down through the mast. Does anyone have any other suggestions/ideas that would fix this problem? (I'm running out of friends to hoist me up my mast!) Many thanks.

 

[Allan Hadad]

New Halyard

The only obstruction in your mast (assuming it is the white Kenyon version) is a piece of tubing welded between the steaming light and the wire conduit (right behind the sail track). Thats how the wire goes from the back of the mast to the light.The old trick I have heard to run the new halyard is to tie a piece of chain (like from a dog collar) to the messenger line. The chain will slither down over obstructions. Of course as you run out of friends to haul you up, you will have to pick the lightest one who still trusts you and volunteer to crank them up! The guy next to me has one of those nylon Mast Mates that I borrow from time to time. Those are the steps that you haul up the mainsail track. It worked pretty well.Good Luck.Allan

 

[Derek Rowell]

Be careful

I had my yard install a spinnaker halyard a few years ago. Somehow the line got twisted around the wiring in the mast, and the friction wore through the insulation and caused a short in the mast. The upshot was that I had to have the mast rewired.Derek

 

[Mike Cummings]

New Halyard

Might try a thin piece of metal used to fish wires thru a wall in a house. Can be purchased at a local hardware store and should come in a length long enough to enter the top and exit the bottom.However, besides the piece of pipe that runs behind the mast track, the mast has two areas that are seperated into four quadrants by two pieces of plastic pipe (..+...). This was done to prevent the lines from rubbing together. They only real way to get all four lines in each quadrant is to take the mast down. Otherwise you may have lines that will rub or get twisted inside the mast.Mike