Oday 27, masthead sheaves

[mreiland]

I have an 1976 Oday 27. It had a wire to line halyard set up for the main halyard. Sadly, the wire line got kinked a bit and would not allow the mainsail to raise completely. it would stop about a foot short of fully raising.

I opted to replace it, so i purchased three new halyard lines, one for spinaker and the other for the mainsail halyard.

I was hoisted up via a forlift to replace and add the new halyard lines and i noticed that it could not feed through the new halyard line end with the wire line attached. My problem was on the port side forward sheave. Through feel, i was able to determine that there's a small brace-like cover, like a line protector over the port side, forward sheave. I could get the wire through, however not the rope line. What is with the small brace over the sheave? I can see it's intented to protect the line from jumping out of the sheave, but it seems too small of a space to allow anything other than a wireline.

Since my attempt was unsuccessful to get it fixed, I'm going to have the mast taken down so I can quickly replace it this coming thursday. What size of sheaves are on Oday 27's? Are they easy to replace? Can i get ride of that sheave line guard once i remove the masthead from the mast?

Mark
s/v Booty Call
1976 Oday 27

 

[HukilauMike]

Mark: If the diameter of your new halyard is the same as the old, it must fit in there somehow. There must either be a way to remove the cover or there is something else keeping you from inserting the line. Maybe the cover was bent when you removed the old line. You should be able to see when the mast is down. There is no such "cover" on the sheaves of my Oday 23; it took about 6 seconds to change the halyards with the mast down. If you have any questions about Odays, you can ask Rudy at D & R Marine (drmarine.com); he used to work at Oday and is the guru of all things Oday.

Either way, it seems you opted to replace your old wire to line halyard with another. You should know that since synthetic line came way down in price, there is no need to suffer those awful splices and meat hooks anymore. The new synthetics have just about as little stretch in them as wire does. Next time you buy new halyards, go for the all line option.

 

[mreiland]

i did contact Rudy at D&R....well, actually got a female to chat with. She was friendly but didn't really lend much help. She did steer me to Rig-Rite, Inc.


Still not anywhere closer to my answers. I'm hoping to either replace or lube up the sheaves and find out what is blocking me from making a halyard replacement a 3 minute job to lasting a week..lol

 

[hman]

I replaced the sheaves in my masthead last winter. I measured them and called West Marine, they found the right size, only not the aluminum ones that were stock with Odays....They are a harder material. If you decide to go this way, remember to measure the shaft size as well as the over all diameter of the roller.

 

[two sailors]

Should the rope section even need to pass over the pully? Attach the shackle to the wire after you have pulled the wire up through the mast. Just a thought.

 

[mreiland]

Well the mast is coming down this morning, just for a closer inspection and determine if we can get the new rope halyard through. Since the boatyard has a crane coming in to step two masts for two larger boats, going to take advantage of the crane time and boatyard owner suggested it. I'll see if I can take pics and see what the problem is at the masthead. Besides, good time to inspect, lube and check on the sheaves, as well as other masthead gear.

 

[mreiland]

well, once the mast was down, it was easily evident. There's a vertical metal piece which is in between the port and starboard masthead sheaves. this metal piece looks like it is to protect the wire/line from jumping out of the sheave. Well, it was bent over somehow and preventing the new halyard rope from getting through. Sheaves checked, lubed and in good condition and vertical metal piece was rebent back into place. Happy day here. Mast is back up, standing rigging tightened..all good now.

 

[HukilauMike]

thanks for the update.