Low-Stretch Halyards actually worth it for cruising?

[Davidasailor26]

You are likely putting up and taking down your sails every day or maybe every two or three days.

Unless you have roller furling and touch the halyards once per season. In that case the lower stretch might be valuable for keeping the draft in the same place on windy and calm days. A racer would probably still adjust the halyard tension to match the day, but for a cruiser at least having the same tension would probably be a little better than having more stretch on the windy days.

 

[colemj]

There does seem to be a better selection of colors in the blended lines but the least cost method is to buy an entire spool for all halyards even though you end up with all halyards being the same color. When I re-rigged my boat it was less than half the cost going to spool size rather than individual lines of different colors. Even though I really prefer a different color for every line, the cost difference won....

The color argument is strange. Looking at NER's offerings in Sta-Set polyester double braid, Endurabraid dyneema, and Viper blended dyneema, they offer Sta-Set in 8 colors/flecks, Viper in 8 colors/flecks, and Endurabraid in 11 colors/flecks. However, Samson does offer more colors in their XLS polyester double braid than they do in their dyneema and dyneema blend products. In the latter, there are only 4 color choices, while the XLS offers 11 colors.

Spools are always a much better deal if you can use it or split it. So are end/odd cuts if they fit your size/length need. The best deals overall are found looking outside the marine market for the identical rope sold into arborist and industrial applications, sometimes under a different name. For example, I just bought 200' of 3/8" Amsteel II Plus for $1.32/ft from an industrial rigging and lifting company. This saved me at least 60% compared to the same line sold through marine sources. Cheaper than Sta-Set polyester double braid (and half the weight).

Mark

 

[Joe]

It seems like low stretch halyard is an expensive solution to a niche problem.

You can save a bundle by building "tapered" halyards yourself. You'll save because you can use a smaller diameter line. Racers will strip the cover off their expensive hi tech double braid such as Warpspeed. But that's throwing money away. Where you save most is buying the single braid dyneema core and covering the back half of the line that's cleated, winched and handled with a less expensive polyester sheath. I have built a number of tapered halyards and have found it quite satisfying to know I've saved so much money and also made something really cool for my boat and for my friends also.

For instance, on my 27 footer, instead of 3/8" polyester I was able to go down to a halyard with 3/16" dyneema core, which I covered with the outside sheath of a 5/16" dacron double braid. 5/16 was as small as I wanted anyway. So I used 80 ft of 3/16 amsteel, found on sale for around $1.00/ft, and 43 ft of 5/16 Samson Xls for about .70 ct/ft... note... any double braid dacron will work... let your wallet be your guide. So total for core and cover came to about $110.

The splice you need to use is in the Samson splicing guide online. I think they call it a "bury" splice... anyway no special tools except something sharp to cut he dacron strands, a big needle and some whipping twine. (you should have all this in your ditty bag, heh, heh) You can buy "cover only" line, which I did once.... it was supposed to have a messenger line to help with fishing the dyneema core into place... it didn't... but I was able to fashion a tool with a wire coat hangar to get the job done (another vanishing item). So.. just get the inexpensive double braid and use its core as the messenger.

I have posted the complete process of making these very cool halyards a few times over the years, so I won't repeat that.

 

[Foswick]

You must be invested in Dyneema, @colemj. I get that you are a fan, but I think you have taken an extreme view on the subject. I detect a little confirmation bias. I get that you think you are objectively correct on this. Just understand that not everyone sees sailing and the choices about equipment and materials the same as you. And, they are not wrong.

I have nothing against your choice to prefer Dyneema-like materials. But, your arguments are reductionist. I do not wish to argue with you. I simply want to point out that there is not one blanket correct answer to this question. I hope you can make room for that position.

As for me, many of my polyester rigging lines are up for replacement. I will replace them with polyester - not because I am inadequately informed, but because the pros of Dyneema simply don't outweigh the cons to me. My enjoyment of sailing will be unaffected.

As to the original question, I just don't think it matters one way or the other in this case, except to say there is no reason to spend more money, unless one really prefers the handling characteristics of Dyneema (for some reason). Any performance benefit is highly situational and probably more about perception bias than physics.