Hard halyards

[Ray Lewis]

Went sailing this past Sunday and found the jib halyard (wire) to be extremely hard to raise to the point where a winch was needed. The main was about the same and both seemed to be hardest to raise the first time. I checked to see that nothing was fouled at the head of the mast and all seemed well. Is this a normal condition or should you be able to raise sails by hand? Again, thanks for all your input. Ray

 

[Bob Camarena]

Depends

It depends on if your halyards are led aft to the cockpit or just to the base of the mast. If they're led back to the cockpit, there can be quite a bit of friction in the system and it can be difficult to raise them the last foot or two by hand. If your halyard winches are on the mast, you should be able to raise both by hand until the last few inches. This all does depend a bit on your size and physical strength.

 

[Mike]

Use your winches on the mast if you have them

I tried to raise the sails by hand once but found that I needed another person to tail the halyard while I sweated it up. My boat has winches on both sides of the mast so I use those. Using a winch helps you to get the right tension on the sails as well. Mike

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners.com]

Sheaves

Your sheaves could also be having a problem. One of mine froze up last fall making it almost impossible to raise the jib. Try lubing it up with Boeshield. If that doesn't work, you might have to replace it.LaDonna

 

[Doug T.]

Lube your tracks

Cleaning and lubricating your tracks can make an enormous difference. I soak a bit of sponge in MacLube, reeve it to the main halyard, add a downhaul, and run the sponge up the mast track.