Raising a new main halyard
- Thread starter colin59
- Start date
Connect the ends of the old and new halyard via a sewn whipping. It's an easy job but if you just use tape and the ends pull apart, then you have a more complicated job. It's worth the effort to have a thin secure connection that will go over the sheaves easily and thru any blocks. You can learn the whipping online. Basically you make a whipping on each end of the lines and then sew loops from one to the other at least four times. It doesn't need to look pretty. Finish with package tape. Duct tape is probably too thick.
If you are down sizing the new halyard it's a bit more difficult but I would use the same method.
If you are down sizing the new halyard it's a bit more difficult but I would use the same method.
I just did this job. Put the two ends together and wrap a piece of electrical tape to hold them together. Then use a needle and some carpet thread and sew the two together using at least four loops. Pull gently through the mast.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,455
I used super glue to butt the two ends together. I then used thread to run between the two ends to secure them in case the glue failed. It worked smoothly. My halyards run through the mast. I pulled it upward through the mast and over the sheave at the top then out into the air and down. Smooth as a hot knife through butter.
I put reeving eyes in all my halyards so that I can pull them in and out whenever I want. I remove all of them at least once a couple years to wash and inspect. This eye is very supple and much thinner than a full class 1 or 2 splice. I then use light line for a messenger. I pull out the old and then pull in the new.
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I have successfully used gorilla tape over the butt joint - it holds so tight it is easier to just snip off the end than remove it.
Just waaaaaay too simple for a one shot install.
We can't argue about it, improve on it, change it or anything else. What good is that
?
Yes, the idea is that the burred cover buts into the cut back end of the core. Then you put in tie stiches to lock it all into place. I did not watch that video and I do not like the way they whipped the line, so I replaced it with one like the way that I do mine. They are really handy because they are very supple and slightly smaller than the standard line so that they pull through the blocks perfectly. Go back to my previous post and watch the new video link.
It is not to be confused with an eye splice because it is not designed to be a high load slice. It is plenty strong enough for pulling in lines and would have more strength than your typical messenger line.
I put them into every new halyard and they stay there forever. Once and done. It is also an easy eye to put into an older line because there is plenty of room with the core removed. The first one I ever did was on a very old halyard that was past due to be replaced. I tried all of the normal methods of joining new to old that have been suggested earlier in this thread but it was too stiff and bulky to make it around the sheeve at the masthead On several attempts, the splice got stuck so hard I thought I would pull it apart and really be in a pickle. Someone suggested a reeving eye, so I gave it a try. The old line came out with no hangup and the new went in just as easy.
The one thing to remember is that you are not connecting the new halyard to the old unless you tie a knot for your halyard shackle. IF you prefer spliced class 1 or 2 splices like I do, you need to pull the old out and replace with a messenger and then use that to pull in the new. This is because one end is a structural eye and the other is a reeving eye only meant for pulling with a messenger.
The problem is the direction of the line IF you have a class 1 or 2 splice on the end that you connect to the sail. What you could do is cut the old top end eye splice and put in a reeving eye into the top end of the line and then pull in the new one. IF you are tying knots for your halyard shackle, it does not matter.
This is one of the reasons I now use knots and not splices. The other reason is so if the point of connection becomes worn, I loose less halyard simply cutting that off and tying a new knot.
dj
I've used a paper clip for a somewhat flexible connector, plus one or two wraps of painter's tape to keep a smooth exterior. The clip is reshaped to resemble a chain link, where the two loop ends are pinched together in the middle. Wire would also work, but a clips wire is stiff enough to easily punch through the rope ends. Rather than having a three or four inch stiff connection, the paper clip, like a sewn attachment, allows the section to bend over the sheave reducing the chance of a hang up through the block or sheave box.
If you've neglected this part of outfitting your boat, now's the time to build yourself a "ditty bag". needles, whipping twine, needle balm, sail repair tape, super sharp knife or razor, a multi tool, spare pieces of sail cloth... etc... All things mentioned here would be part of the ditty bag. You can pick up a packet of needles at any chandlery.... I've found them in hardware stores in the carpet section.
If you've neglected this part of outfitting your boat, now's the time to build yourself a "ditty bag". needles, whipping twine, needle balm, sail repair tape, super sharp knife or razor, a multi tool, spare pieces of sail cloth... etc... All things mentioned here would be part of the ditty bag. You can pick up a packet of needles at any chandlery.... I've found them in hardware stores in the carpet section.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,455
Great suggestion @Joe .
I have added these scissors to my bag.
Miller KS-1 Yellow Fiber Optic Kevlar Scissors
Safer than the ceramic knife I have been using. Go through Dyneema like a hot knife through butter. Maintain their cutting edge.
Might also add a couple of curved needles to your ditty. A stitch in time saves nine.
I have added these scissors to my bag.
Miller KS-1 Yellow Fiber Optic Kevlar Scissors
Safer than the ceramic knife I have been using. Go through Dyneema like a hot knife through butter. Maintain their cutting edge.
Might also add a couple of curved needles to your ditty. A stitch in time saves nine.
Awesome suggestion, I didn't know I needed those scissors until your post... ordered a pair just now, only $15 !
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,455
Just wait until you get them in your hands. It was an eye-opener for me. And I still have all 10 digits. Fewer nicks and bleeders on the lines.