My 25 is rigged with a half-line half-wire main halyard. Whats the advantage of this setup over all line. I think my halyard has lived its useful life.
line vs. wire
- Thread starter moiz
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That's a good question
I don't see any advantage to a combination wire/line halyard, and I've never liked it. If I had it on my mast I'd do away with it, even if it meant changing the sheave on the mast to accommodate the line diameter. Another thing that I've noticed on some masts is a cheek block at the bottom of the mast for the Main Halyard and Jib Halyard. I think that it would be a terrible strain on anyone's back to have to raise the sail by pulling up on a halyard which is running through a sheave at the bottom of the mast. I had a similar set-up for my Jib Halyard and I hated it. All that is really needed is a winch on the mast with a clam cleat above it to snub the halyard off so that one could remove the wraps off the winch and cleat the halyard off somewhere below the winch. You don't even need the winch handle. I've had this set up for my internal halyards for years, and I love it. I replaced my old halyards with New England Ropes StA-Set X polyester braid, and it was so simple to work with to splice the eye for the shackle. If I see some wear in the Main Halyard, I'll remove it and splice an eye on the other end, and invert it. My Jib Halyard doesn't get much use anymore since I installed my roller furler. Joe
I don't see any advantage to a combination wire/line halyard, and I've never liked it. If I had it on my mast I'd do away with it, even if it meant changing the sheave on the mast to accommodate the line diameter. Another thing that I've noticed on some masts is a cheek block at the bottom of the mast for the Main Halyard and Jib Halyard. I think that it would be a terrible strain on anyone's back to have to raise the sail by pulling up on a halyard which is running through a sheave at the bottom of the mast. I had a similar set-up for my Jib Halyard and I hated it. All that is really needed is a winch on the mast with a clam cleat above it to snub the halyard off so that one could remove the wraps off the winch and cleat the halyard off somewhere below the winch. You don't even need the winch handle. I've had this set up for my internal halyards for years, and I love it. I replaced my old halyards with New England Ropes StA-Set X polyester braid, and it was so simple to work with to splice the eye for the shackle. If I see some wear in the Main Halyard, I'll remove it and splice an eye on the other end, and invert it. My Jib Halyard doesn't get much use anymore since I installed my roller furler. Joe
pros and cons
before the advent of no stretch (or low stretch) line, wire was used, but now halyards made from dyneema, spectra, technora are vastly superior to wire. Wire may develop fishhooks that can hurt hands, sails and the line part of the halyard, it is more difficult to jump at the mast and it is far heavier than all line halyards. It is easier to remove in the off season (replace with a messenger line) to keep dry, out of the sun and to avoid wear and tear (slapping on halyards in the boatyard)
before the advent of no stretch (or low stretch) line, wire was used, but now halyards made from dyneema, spectra, technora are vastly superior to wire. Wire may develop fishhooks that can hurt hands, sails and the line part of the halyard, it is more difficult to jump at the mast and it is far heavier than all line halyards. It is easier to remove in the off season (replace with a messenger line) to keep dry, out of the sun and to avoid wear and tear (slapping on halyards in the boatyard)
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