Knock knock. Who's there? Halyards.

[OS2Dude]

My boat has internal halyards going up the mast. Coming down they are external. For mine, the main halyard comes off the sail and clips to the lifeline. The spin halyard comes down and clips to the handrail on the cabin roof on that side. The jib is a roller furler, so it is up at the mast head all the time.

When I had an O'Day 23 with external halyards, I tossed them around the spreaders to keep them off the mast.

I really dislike the flat 'SLAP' of a halyard flogging the mast. Most people don't seem to know (or care) how much noise their boats make. Pulling the halyard tight only changes the wind speed needed to get it moving. And let's not forget the people who leave their booms loose so the gooseneck squeals with every roll...

 

[stickinthemud57]

Growing up in Corpus Christi where breeze is abundant, the sound of slapping halyards was nearly constant, and has a nostalgic effect for me. If I were trying to sleep on my boat, it would be a problem. A solution I was shown by one of our sailing club members was to take the lower end of the halyard and whip it around so that it catches on the fore side of the spreader. Once secured and tightened it is well clear of the mast and doesn't slap. My boat is 26', so the spreaders are not that high. I would imaging with larger boats this would be more difficult.