ok, so my main halyard is lying on the cockpit floor-all 90' of it, don't ask. will the other halyard work if i splice onto it to raise my new halyard? will the pulley at the top of the mast align well enuf to raise my mainsail? thanks so much. if i didnt specify it's a '86 28.5 hunter.
replacing main halyard
- Thread starter mombojerry
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If it is all lying on the cockpit floor, what good is it going to do to splice it together?
The mast head probably has two sets of sheaves for each halyard (one in front of the other). There also may be two halyards for your boat too. The good thing about not having a fractional rig is that you can always go up the mast on another one of the halyards.
The mast head probably has two sets of sheaves for each halyard (one in front of the other). There also may be two halyards for your boat too. The good thing about not having a fractional rig is that you can always go up the mast on another one of the halyards.
so, if a climbing harness or bowsuns seat isnt available, maybe i can hoist my new halyard spiced to the other halyard? not sure if it was for spinnaker that i don't have or just another halyard.
there is another one that goes to top of mast, honestly don't know its purpose, it exits the bottom of mast in different pully and leads thru lock beside the halyard i lost. i wondered if it was for spinnaker, but not smart enuf to know. but do know my boat doesnt have spinnaker now. we had used it to hoist me up in bowsuns seat a few years ago, i'm worried it might be too old to trust my life with now, and was hoping to use it to splice to to run another main halyard to top of mast. it just uses dif pully adjacent to original (that i pulled down accidently) so i'm hoping i can use that set of pulleys to raise main. what do you think? thanks
If I understand your post there is another halyard but it would be on a different sheave at the top. So yes, you could pull it to the top with your main halyard attached. If there is a shackle on the main halyard it has to go over the top and then down the mast. You will have to go up there to run it over the proper sheave.
Here is how I would do it. Attach two strong but small messenger lines to the secondary halyard. This has to be to the bitter end, the end hanging out of the bottom of the mast without a shackle. Pull that halyard out of the mast, the two messenger lines will go out over the top and down to the deck. Detach one messenger line and keep it on deck. Use the other messenger to pull the secondary halyard back over the top and down through the mast. Now you have a halyard to use to go up to the top. Go up there and move the other messenger line to the proper sheave. Back on deck you can pull the main halyard up and down through the mast with that messenger line. Be careful to attach the messenger lines so they are secure but flexible.
P.S. just read the post that you wrote while I was writing. If the secondary halyard is too old and comes out the back of the mast just attach the main halyard to the shackle end(cut shackle off) and pull it through. If it goes out the front(jib or spinnaker) then pull a new halyard through and then follow above idea.
Here is how I would do it. Attach two strong but small messenger lines to the secondary halyard. This has to be to the bitter end, the end hanging out of the bottom of the mast without a shackle. Pull that halyard out of the mast, the two messenger lines will go out over the top and down to the deck. Detach one messenger line and keep it on deck. Use the other messenger to pull the secondary halyard back over the top and down through the mast. Now you have a halyard to use to go up to the top. Go up there and move the other messenger line to the proper sheave. Back on deck you can pull the main halyard up and down through the mast with that messenger line. Be careful to attach the messenger lines so they are secure but flexible.
P.S. just read the post that you wrote while I was writing. If the secondary halyard is too old and comes out the back of the mast just attach the main halyard to the shackle end(cut shackle off) and pull it through. If it goes out the front(jib or spinnaker) then pull a new halyard through and then follow above idea.
If I read this right, you have a spare halyard also on the aft side of the mast...does it exit aft at the top as a second mainsail halyard? If so, then just use it until a later date when you really have to go up the mast, or have the yard hoist someone up with their crane. Probably not too costly.
am going to pull the boat this winter, so will make do with the 2nd sheave and pull my new halyard line up with it since it does exit the stern of the mast. i feel better now. thanks again.
Remember, there isn't anyone on this forum that doesn't have a story just like this one (or like me, worse).
good luck.
good luck.
and one more addendum, the new halyard does not have a shackle or eye sewed in it, will use bowline to attach to mainsail.
Okay, if you are concerned about the old halyard being too old to be safe, you can feed you new halyard up there and then take a ride up the stick on the new one (when you get a harness or chair).
You can feed a bicycle chain attached to a fish line. Pull the chain out of the bottom of the mast and hook another halyard to the fish line. We had multiple halyards for the jib/spinnaker, but only had one halyard for the main.
If you decide to wait until you pull the boat I would suggest that you also replace all of the sheaves. If they break they will usually damage the lines and that can get expensive.
You can feed a bicycle chain attached to a fish line. Pull the chain out of the bottom of the mast and hook another halyard to the fish line. We had multiple halyards for the jib/spinnaker, but only had one halyard for the main.
If you decide to wait until you pull the boat I would suggest that you also replace all of the sheaves. If they break they will usually damage the lines and that can get expensive.
ok ok, so the rest of the story.....i had purchased new 90' halyard, spliced it cleanly on the sail end after cutting shackle off and about that time had 2 friends show up on my boat. got distracted and pulled the wrong end til my friend said " i think you're pulling the wrong way. turned to look and line had already disappeared into mast. removed bottom sheave to see if could fish it out of bottom of mast- not visible, tried whipping the old halyard from aft side of mast to encourage it over the top of sheave and mast so it would fall back thru to bottom. of course the whipping action caused the rest of the halyard to fall to cockpit floor. which led me to original post. boulevard pale ales might have been contributory to my stupidity, but it mostly is innate. i do feel better, thanx for your patience and careful replies without commentary. will fix my blunder this weekend. guess it makes sense to just hoist the main with the old existing 2nd halyard and see if it pulls cleanly to top of mast. if it does, i will splice onto it and pull bright shiny new one up.
The second "halyard" exiting the aft side of the mast is likely the toping lift... It is also quite likely a smaller line and not capable of quite the load, be careful. If it is indeed the toping lift then your boom isn't being supported when the sail is down... ?
Mombojerry: No big deal. S--T HAPPENS! As long as you don't need to lose sailing time, there is no harm, no foul. It's a little hard on the ego, but another lesson learned.
If you look through the archives, you will see an easy to use method to splice the lines together with a "large" paper clip and a little riggin' tape. Works well everytime.
If you look through the archives, you will see an easy to use method to splice the lines together with a "large" paper clip and a little riggin' tape. Works well everytime.
The procedure that I use to join lines end to end has never failed me. Pick up an embroidery needle at a craft store. Long, heavy needles with big eyes. Use either embroidery thread or dental floss and sew the ends of the halyards together. All the way around. Cover the stitches with a single layer of electrical tape to make it smooth and slippery. Lotion or grease on the tape for luck. You will have a flexible and slippery joint that is the same diameter as the halyard. You don't want a bulge at the joint.
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