Main Halyard jammed

[manning12345]

We just bought an old Columbia 34 and it needs ALOT of work. One of the issues is the main halyard which runs down INSIDE the mast is jammed and only a small amount of line is coming down and out of the mast. (seems like it should be more as it is only enough to grab a hand full - not eneough to make it to the winch )- The sail side / haul up side is all out and fine and clear to the top.

So the whole halyard is jammed - it wont go up or down and there is no visible issue. We have climbed the mast and the pulley is fine at the top ... My hunch is somehow it sucked up a knot as there is only that small amount of line coming out of the mast on the hauling side. Anyone ever has this issue and fixed it without unstepping the mast?

Thanks so much.

 

[Capt jgw]

Sounds like you're going to have to drop the mast to look up inside. Actually you need to do that anyway as the standing rigging needs to be inspected and repaired as needed every so often. If the boat needs work you can assume this hasn't been done recently, and it's much easier with the mast on saw horses. If the halyard had a knot inside you should be able to move it a little, if it won't move at all it must be stuck or wound around something inside. Hopefully the problem is within reach from the bottom, trying to clear a jam 30 up the mast could get interesting.
These boats were built before internal halyards were invented, and had only two halyards, which were externally routed. The internal route was added later, so who knows what the previous owners did to accomplish that, and what kind of obstructions are in there.