Need Advice....Replacing broken main halyard

[Steve E.]

All,

We have a 1999 Hunter 310 with a fractional rig. Two weekends ago while under sail our main halyard snapped. I was fortunate to grab it and secure it before the main dropped. I lashed a length of twine (only thing I had on the boat that was long enough) and dropped the main. I secured the twine, brought the boat back to slip and went home. At home, I ordered a new main halyard and took it down today to replace.

Not convinced the twine was the best pull string, I planned on replacing it with a 3/16 poly line from wally world. The poly wouldn't feed around the pulley at the top of the mast, nor through the exit side of the mast (seemed to get stuck somewhere around the spreaders). Anyhow, tried using the main attached to the twine, and ran into the same result. A dock neighbor and I continued to try to get it fed until the unthinkable happened.....the twine snapped, dropping the new main halyard back onto the deck.

Now what? I cant use the jib halyard to hoist someone up in the chair, as it is a fractional rig and only goes 7/8 up the mast (about 5-6 feet short of the top of the mast). I fear that my only option is to drop the mast and run a new pull wire when the mast is horizontal. Oh, by the way, this is Colorado, on a lake. No real boat yards to take the boat to, no lifts, service yards, etc. There is a marina with an on the water gin pole, but I fear it only reaches about 40' up.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Thanks,

 

[artboas]

Another choice

All,

We have a 1999 Hunter 310 with a fractional rig. Two weekends ago while under sail our main halyard snapped. I was fortunate to grab it and secure it before the main dropped. I lashed a length of twine (only thing I had on the boat that was long enough) and dropped the main. I secured the twine, brought the boat back to slip and went home. At home, I ordered a new main halyard and took it down today to replace.

Not convinced the twine was the best pull string, I planned on replacing it with a 3/16 poly line from wally world. The poly wouldn't feed around the pulley at the top of the mast, nor through the exit side of the mast (seemed to get stuck somewhere around the spreaders). Anyhow, tried using the main attached to the twine, and ran into the same result. A dock neighbor and I continued to try to get it fed until the unthinkable happened.....the twine snapped, dropping the new main halyard backu onto the deck.

Now what? I cant use the jib halyard to hoist someone up in the chair, as it is a fractional rig and only goes 7/8 up the mast (about 5-6 feet short of the top of the mast). I fear that my only option is to drop the mast and run a new pull wire when the mast is horizontal. Oh, by the way, this is Colorado, on a lake. No real boat yards to take the boat to, no lifts, service yards, etc. There is a marina with an on the water gin pole, but I fear it only reaches about 40' up.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Thanks,

You could go up on the topping lift.
It gets you on the aft side of the mast all the way to the top.
Do you have a proper bosun's chair?
Do you know how to use it?

 

[Steve Dion]

Purchase a length of nylon messanger line (not fishing line) and sew it to the halyard and pull it through. Then you can pull a new halyard without an issue.

You need to user some heavy duty whipping line to sew the two ends together.

 

[artboas]

Don't think this works

Purchase a length of nylon messanger line (not fishing line) and sew it to the halyard and pull it through. Then you can pull a new halyard without an issue.

You need to user some heavy duty whipping line to sew the two ends together.

Steve,
I think he lost his main halyard & fish.
I could be wrong , but this is how I interpret the problem.
FYI, here is a nutty situation.
A friend of mine has a 49.
I masthead all my halyards every winter to keep weathering to a minimum.
I always use high quality 1/4" line.
Anyway, my buddy got cheap, and used string.
Well, the wind over the winter tangled everything up, and all the lines busted.
He had all his halyards mast headed.
Had to pull the stick. There was a mast crane at the dock, but safety regulations prohibit them from sending someone aloft in a chair
Yikes

 

[Steve E.]

You could go up on the topping lift.
It gets you on the aft side of the mast all the way to the top.
Do you have a proper bosun's chair?
Do you know how to use it?

Great idea, but unfortunately, the Hunter 310 does not have a topping lift.
Yes, I have a bosun's chair and have used it several times.

Thanks for the idea though.

 

[Steve E.]

Steve,
I think he lost his main halyard & fish.
I could be wrong , but this is how I interpret the problem.

Yes, that is correct. No halyard to use for a messenger line. :cry:

Had to pull the stick. There was a mast crane at the dock, but safety regulations prohibit them from sending someone aloft in a chair
Yikes

That is my fear too.....I am worried I am going to have to drop the mast.

 

[Steve Dion]

Have you considered an electrical fish tape. It may take several tries, but it does not sound like you have many choices. I assume that you may need 100 ft or so.

 

[Steve E.]

Have you considered an electrical fish tape. It may take several tries, but it does not sound like you have many choices. I assume that you may need 100 ft or so.

No way to get to the top of the mast. If I have to bring down the mast, I can lay the mast on it's side and run #12 household electrical wire (or something) through the mast for a pull wire. Dang gravity is getting in the way running it vertical.

 

[woodster]

do you know a tree surgeon that can scale the mast that might be a way out

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Is there a yard nearby with a machine to lift a person to install a new line with? gents, I am thinking of two things. First dropping the mast is a lot of time and costs to do that. Secondly, anyone going up the mast without a safety line to secure him should he fall would keep him from being killed.

When using a messenger line which is what I believe caused it to break, it got off the sheave at the top of the mast and became stuck and thus failed. Always maintain some tension on the messenger line to insure it will not come off that sheave.

 

[patrick33308]

Email Mac McDonnell, a rigger in Tampa, mcrigger@tampabay.rr.com, tell him you were talking to me, Hunter 33.5 and a member of the Tampa Sailing Squadron, and tell him your problem. He'll know how to fix it.
He is very very good......

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Assuming you have never stepped the mast since 1999 when the boat was new and a thorough inspection of the hardware and rigging was never done, it's a good idea to do it now that you have an 'excuse'. That's a long time and some things will assuredly require maintenance or replacement.

 

[artboas]

100% Agree

Assuming you have never stepped the mast since 1999 when the boat was new and a thorough inspection of the hardware and rigging was never done, it's a good idea to do it now that you have an 'excuse'. That's a long time and some things will assuredly require maintenance or replacement.

You need to pull the spar. At the same time, do a long overdue inspection

 

[Steve Walsh]

Thinking out of the box long shot here... is there a bridge (asking a lot) that is the correct height (asking even more) that you could motor up to on a very calm day? Maybe run an electrical fish down from the top or drop a heavy nut with a messenger line attached to it from the masthead. I saw a guy fix something on the top of his mast this way a few years ago. He used a fender to keep the top of the mast from scraping the concrete and the boat owner just backed away from the bridge when his helper was finished. Maybe took 3-4 minutes. He was fortunate that his shrouds and stays did not touch the bridge structure.

 

[Chief RA]

I have a fiberglass fishtape and I would expect that it would go up a mast and out the top quite well. It is straight when extended and quite rigid. Chief

 

[Jackdaw]

Call some tree service outfits. The big ones will have a cherry picker that will reach easily. If you talk to the owner and explain that you want, he/she will quickly figure its a easy way to make a $150 bucks.

 

[bmorr]

A weird Idea, find a boat with a higher mast, place side by side-stren to bow , with lines securing the boats 6 or so feet apart send some one up the mast of the other boat and bring your mast to them using the jib line which should be close enough to the spreaders so the shrouds take the strain.