C-22 Halyards
Yes. You have to change the masthead sheaves for the 5/16 inch line. However, due to space limitations, one generally replaces the masthead sheaves to accept 1/4 inch line. Nevertheless, one can use the original sheaves with 5/16 inch line, but it’s quite bad, especially if one has internal halyards and the halyard turns almost 180 degrees over just one sheave. Still, that aside, you’re thinking here is bit off. What you want is 5/16 or 3/8 line to haul up the halyard and cleat into a rope clutch, cam cleat or horn cleat. The balance of the line that goes up the mast to the head of the sail (raised sail) is most desirably as small as possible. You don’t want nor need 5/16 line going up the mast. To achieve this, there are two answers depending upon whether you have internal halyards or external halyards. First for internal halyards, because the halyard passes over only one sheave and therefore makes nearly a 180 degree turn, wire becomes problematic in that it can unravel making such a sharp turn. Line is a better choice for this application. Use an extremely low stretch and negligible creep line such as Vectran or Technora. Strip the line roughly halfway so that the Vectran or Technora core is for the part that attaches to the head while the polyester covered part is on the part that one hauls and cleats. By using say 5/16 inch line, the polyester cover part will be 5/16 while the stripped part will have a diameter of about 1/4 inch. As the original sheaves are for 1/8 inch wire, replace these with sheaves to accept 1/4 inch line. As the core will be a single braid, and as making a strong splice in single braid line can be tricky, affix the core to a shackle with a buntline hitch. Trying to untie a very tight bowline in single from the head of a sail after sailing can be very tedious. Save yourself misery and use a headboard shackle. For external halyards, wire rope is unmatched by anything. For zippo stretch and creep nothing beats wire. The wire should be 1/8 diameter, which is smaller than any other line you could use and this is important to keep wind resistence low along the mast. Wire rope will have a smooth transition from the rope to the wire as the wire is spliced into the rope. Obviously, this is something you buy rather than try to make yourself. This smooth transition is particularly important on a C-22 as it will not hang up on the tang holding the lower shrouds like the knotted rope does on the eye of the wire that Catalina supplies. As the wire will pass over two sheaves at the truck (masthead), the wire bends no more than ninety degrees and this mitigates the problems of wire running over a sharp turn.
