Oday 25 Main Halyard Stuck

gabriel.donnelly · Jul 8, 2011

Is it raising up the boom? I have to lift the boom up while winching up the main at the tail end there...
Try it out.

-g

gabriel.donnelly · Jul 9, 2011

Then it is probably wrapped up w/ your Jib halyard inside the mast.
-g

Joe11688 · Jul 9, 2011

veggiedean said:
Hello,

I recently purchased a 1977 O'day 25. I'm an really enjoying the boat, but I am having trouble raising the main sail completely. The main sail stops raising about 8" short. I initially thought it was the slugs, so I raised and lowered the main removing the top slugs each time. I removed at least the top 6 slugs, with no change in the raising of the main. So, I have concluded that the halyard must be catching. It is 3/8". I don't think the halyard is catching at the masthead, but it could be. The halyard is in good condition. Is is possible that there is an issue within the mast? Anyone have experience with this issue?
Thanks, Dean

One of the guys in my club had an issue similar to that on a Mac 26 that he used to own but I don't remember how he resolved it. Try giving this a shot: take some dish washing detergent and apply a little bit on each one of the sail slugs to lubricate them. I've been doing this to mine since last year and my sail slides work beautiful.
If the PO replaced that halyard with a thicker halyard, the splice for the shackle is going to be even thicker above the shackle and this could be a problem for the mast sheave. This happens because I got a little stupid one day and bought 1/2" Sta-Set X instead 5/16" which is suppose to be in my mast. It worked but it never worked all that great. I have 5/16" halyards now and they work great. I would check the mast sheave to see if it's broken. Some of the O'Day 25s had halyards which were a combination of wire and rope and the mast sheave was made for the wire. If the PO converted it over to rope and didn't change the mast sheave, that could present a problem right now. Find out what size halyard is supposed to be in your mast and take it from there. Then check the mast sheave. I've had to replace mast sheaves on my 86 O'Day 222 so it's not unusual for them to break.
Joe

Joe11688 · Jul 10, 2011

veggiedean said:
Thanks for the ideas. I lubed the slugs and I am pretty confident this is not the problem. I will research the halyard diameter. My guess is that the it is a sheave or halyard stuck in the mast. Looks like I made drop it soon. Has any taken the plate where the main halyard exits the mast off? Maybe I could see crossed lines or sheave? Thanks for the advice.

I take it that you have internal halyards like my mast which was made by Z-Spar? The best way I know of to check out the halyards inside is to lay the mast down on saw horses or two high surfaces that will allow you to look inside the mast by removing the mast head plus the tabernacle and plug at the other end. This is what I had to do a few years ago, unless your tabernacle is riveted to the mast.
I suppose that it's quite possible that the two halyards could be dipped with one another.
When I did my mast it was in the spring time and the mast had no stays or spreader on it.
In the fall, I always remove all the stays and spreaders from my mast. I wrap the mast with polytarp and use it as a ridge pole for the winter tarp cover storage.
The mast was easy to handle in the spring time for what I needed to do which included, having some welding done near the bottom of the mast, removing the steaming light and the feed wire to it, and installing a new Dwyer Jib sheave block on my mast. I did everything in my yard except the Heliark welding. I also cleaned the electric contacts in my mast head light and was able to test it out by powering it with my 12 volt battery charger.
If you can't view the halyards to easy by looking down the mast, you could always hook a tag string to one of them and pull it out of the mast. You may get a better view of what's going on in there by doing that, I don't really know.
When you go to put it back together you need to use thread lock cement on the machine screws. If you have any stainless steel attached to the aluminum, now is the time to insulate it somehow so your mast doesn't corrode. Undoubtedly, the best way to find out something is to take the mast down and lay it on something high enough so that you can see in there with the mast head removed. Good luck!
Joe

RichBone · Jul 10, 2011

veggiedean said:
Thanks for the ideas. I lubed the slugs and I am pretty confident this is not the problem. I will research the halyard diameter. My guess is that the it is a sheave or halyard stuck in the mast. Looks like I made drop it soon. Has any taken the plate where the main halyard exits the mast off? Maybe I could see crossed lines or sheave? Thanks for the advice.

Do you mean the masthead fitting? Sure, I've had mine off. Had to to run wires and to convert mine to internal halyards. I suspect it's what Joe said about the splice thickness.

Rich

Joe11688 · Jul 11, 2011

RBone said:
Do you mean the masthead fitting? Sure, I've had mine off. Had to to run wires and to convert mine to internal halyards. I suspect it's what Joe said about the splice thickness.

Rich

Yes Rich! I wasn't sure whether the mast head on the O'Day 25 was bolted on like mine. I think that my old el cheapo cast Aluminum mast tabernacle was riveted in place on my old Z-Spar mast. My Kenyon stainless steel mast hinge is bolted to a shallow mast plug and screwed in place to the sides of the mast.
I think that it's possible that the PO could have installed the wrong size halyard in his mast. I did that years ago myself and I'm still trying to look ashamed.

If he can remove both ends from his mast and get the mast positioned at a working height with one end pointed toward the lower sky, he'll be able to see inside that mast well enough to find out what's going on inside there if anything. It means disconnecting the mast head light but it's a good idea to clean up the electric contacts with a wheel brush on a Dremel Tool while he has it out.

Myself, I love internal halyards. They did present a problem for my steaming light wires though and this was the reason why I removed my steaming light and the wires that fed it. My boat never had a steaming light and although I did a lot of night sailing years ago, I really have no need for the light now.

RichBone · Jul 11, 2011

I've got a Kenyon mast and the casting for the masthead is secured by a thru bolt. Taking that off should be all that he needs to do to see what's going on with the halyard. The sheaves are supposed to be able to take wire or braided rope. I haven't had any issues with my halyards since converting to internals. The sheaves are in a position to run the halyards external or internal.

Rich

Joe11688 · Jul 11, 2011

veggiedean said:
OK. Looks like the mast is coming down. My masthead light is out too, so I can make two calls with one dime. Thanks.

With the masthead light, it's usually the electric contacts and even the metal part of the bulb gets a little corroded. A Dremel Tool with a wheel brush will clean it up and get it working again.
I've yet to burn out a bulb on my boat. It just hasn't happened in all the years I've owned her and I'm the original owner.
I'm taking my boat out of the water tomorrow morning and bringing it home. I have some work that I want to do on her and I can do it better at the house. My mast is down and laying in the travel crutches and she's all set to be pulled out as soon as I get there.
Good luck with that.
Joe

Joe11688 · Jul 23, 2011

veggiedean said:
Just an update. I feel slightly stupid, but I am just learning the boat. I finally had a couple hours to just work on the boat and not sail. I noticed the clew of mainsail was a little tight during my last sail. Released the outhaul and the main went up fine. New boat education. Also, setup the boom vang correctly. Very happy that I can properly adjust the mainsail now!

I always let off my outhaul after lowering my mainsail to cover it. I don't believe in leaving the outhaul at full tension when my sail is down. I've never had the occasion to use my Cunningham.
Joe