81 Hunter 30. Main halliard sheave at truck spins but not when under any pressure.. I suspect bushings or bearings are done. Anybody have experience in fixing this? Is it possible without dropping the stick?
Halyard sheaves
- Thread starter sandpiper10471
- Start date
You can buy some time by greasing the bushing but eventually the sheave and bushing will need to be replaced. I had a friend use a mast stepping crane to hoist himself high enough to service his mast head. In most cases this would require dropping the mast but not all. Depends on how the mast head is configured and how much access you have to the sheaves
Use a thin, stiff electrical wire (not stranded) to loop around the sheave, then twist the loop to secure the piece. Move the halyard out of its channel to allow room for the wire loop to fit neatly around the rim. Other material you might use could be zip ties or a length of solder. Perhaps take a different approach and use a piece of spring wire....may be difficult to find the right dimension.. but I'm just tossing out ideas now. I've had success with the electrical wire, but not sure about the design of you mast head. Good luck. I find solving little challenges like this to be quite satisfying. Keep an open mind. heh, heh.
I dropped the mast in order to work on several items. Since only one masthead sheave is currently in use, I thought I could replace the offending one with one of the unused. First hint was that the truck came off far too easily for a 44 year old boat. All four wheels are sadly compromised. Some PO obviously has had the same idea and rotated the spares. All bronze bushings are quite worn and two very badly cracked and mishaped. Two of the wheels are badly scored on the sides from running cock-eyed in the housing. I selected the best one, greased it up well and stepped the stick. Game changer! In spite of less than ideal condition, I can now hoist the main to the top without using the winch. I'll get new bushings machined so I'm ready when this fix runs out.