Should I buy replacement main and jib halyards with the fittings attached? How do I rethread the halyards?
How to replace main and jib halyard
- Thread starter Snow Fairy
- Start date
You whip a loop onto the non-fitting end, tie an braided messenger line to the loop, and pull-it through. (You make sure that the messenger line is twice as long as the height of the mast above the deck and tie-it off at the deck so you don't end-up losing it.)
Then you restring he halyard by reversing the process.
Then you restring he halyard by reversing the process.
If you don't know how, or don't want to screw around with making them, YES. Measure your halyards and record the lengths, then take pictures of the end fittings, determine if you want to get new fittings, and then you can either send the old ones to whoever is going to replace them (and use the old fittings) or order them so you can use the old ones as spares.
If you mean by fittings, the shackle, yes. I've had the line purveyor splice the shackle onto the halyard. It is a value and you get a smooth tight eye that is strong and snag resistant. Even with soft shackles you still need an eye. I'm not good enough to do a professional quality eye. So spend $30 or whatever and get the good stuff.
I think pre-made halyards are available on the Parts page of this web-site, or D&R Marine (www.drmarine.com) can make you new ones, the only downside to buying pre-made ones like this is that those shackles aren't cheap, so if your present ones are still good it is much less $$ to either buy the line and do the job yourself or bring the old halyards to a local rigger/marine rope store and have them just replace the line and splice the old shackles on. Splicing double-braid isn't to0 hard and the directions come with the splicing kit (and some Marine stores send the instructions with your order), but it is sometimes worth the $$ to have it done professionally. If you order from D&R it is worth a phone call (508) 644-3001 to confirm the order, or even place the order by phone. Rudy Nickerson, who runs D&R used to be the Parts Dept. Manager at O'DAY and is a wealth of knowledge about our boats.
I replaced my original halyards last season with some new hi-tech, low-stretch stuff. Most marine stores run specials during the winter months for line, so this is a good time to begin shopping. I'd wait for at least 20% off retail as a few hundred feet of line will set you back some. I bought mine from Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS), and was happy, but there are many other online retailers (Vela, Defender, even WM) that run good deals. APS has a nice tutorial for lines based on usage, which is the reason I threw my business there - http://www.apsltd.com/line.html . I bought an extra long eye splice (about 3 inches) to form a clove hitch inside the splice to my old shackle - like a luggage tag. That way I could re-use the old shackle and did not have to mail it around. I just cut it off the old eye-splice and passed one end of the new halyard through it's own eye splice. It's larger than a normal eye, but just as strong and does not look bad.
Making the butt-to-butt connection between the old and new halyard is simple, but takes some courage. Connect the old line where the headboard shackle was to the bitter end of the new line that will go to your cleat. You want it very strong, but small and flexible enough to go through the block at the top very smoothly. I used some waxed rigging thread passed in a loop between the two ends using a needle, say four loops. Then I surrounded the end with a single pass of duct tape. Test by both bending and pulling on your connection. Remember at the top it must go over the block and 180 degrees back down. Feed the new halyard through slowly, because fishing a new one without a lead is a big pain. I never learned how to make splices in single-braid, and I don't intend to start now. It's not something I want to learn, and I'll happily pay $30 per splice for the dozen that I'll probably make in my lifetime.
Making the butt-to-butt connection between the old and new halyard is simple, but takes some courage. Connect the old line where the headboard shackle was to the bitter end of the new line that will go to your cleat. You want it very strong, but small and flexible enough to go through the block at the top very smoothly. I used some waxed rigging thread passed in a loop between the two ends using a needle, say four loops. Then I surrounded the end with a single pass of duct tape. Test by both bending and pulling on your connection. Remember at the top it must go over the block and 180 degrees back down. Feed the new halyard through slowly, because fishing a new one without a lead is a big pain. I never learned how to make splices in single-braid, and I don't intend to start now. It's not something I want to learn, and I'll happily pay $30 per splice for the dozen that I'll probably make in my lifetime.
You could consider tying the halyards to the shackles, rather than buy them spliced. My last halyards I paid an extra $30 to have them spliced. I now find that some of my respected racer friends don't bother with a splice, they just tie the halyard to the shackle with a halyard hitch. When I feel the need to get new halyards, I will just buy the line I want (it will be dyneema cored next time around) and just go with the halyard hitch. I can finish the ends nicely myself. http://www.animatedknots.com/halyard/index.php
Not disagreeing, Brian, but here's a couple of factors that may not be apparent to the newer sailors. You'll probably never untie a halyard hitch as they tend to seize up, so it's a knife and re-whipping. Second, any knot reduces the tensile strength of the line by a large percentage (40-50% for a small knot like a halyard hitch). Since modern lines are so ridiculously over-strong to reduce stretch this will not matter to you. For example, the New England VPC on my boat has a working load over 3 tons, if I remember correctly, and I think I can afford to loose a ton or two. Come to think of it, perhaps I'll save the $30 next time too.
When I bought new halyards for my 192, I bought Yale Crystalyne Vectran cored line. More money than brains, I know... And I figured each 1/4" line could easily lift like 5 of my boats at the same time. Because: No stretch!Not disagreeing, Brian, but here's a couple of factors that may not be apparent to the newer sailors. You'll probably never untie a halyard hitch as they tend to seize up, so it's a knife and re-whipping. Second, any knot reduces the tensile strength of the line by a large percentage (40-50% for a small knot like a halyard hitch). Since modern lines are so ridiculously over-strong to reduce stretch this will not matter to you. For example, the New England VPC on my boat has a working load over 3 tons, if I remember correctly, and I think I can afford to loose a ton or two. Come to think of it, perhaps I'll save the $30 next time too.
But Vectran doesn't like to make tight turns, so my jib halyard will probably wear out before the main halyard due to going through a smaller block. I probably should have just used Dyneema cored lines, though at the time, I think the cost was the same between both Vectran and Dyneema cored line.
All in all it's silly, considering the 192 is a non-performance daysailing cruiser, not a high performance race boat.