I'm suyre someone mentioned this before, but I am brain dead. I ne3ed to replace my halyard. Both are wire rope/nylon lines. If I go with just nylon, I suppose I will have to replace the sheaves at the top of the mast. Unless I can find a place that does repalcement lines cheap. I have the nylon line, and my wire rope is ok, so can I just splice in the two and go for it? I've redone lines before but never wire rope to nylon. Any suggestions?
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Go with all nylon
If you go with all nylon halyards, you will not have to replace the sheaves. Remember, the nylon goes through the sheaves now when the halyard is completely down. Wire/nylon splices were used back when nylon line stretched a bunch. Now that our mad scientists have figured out how to make affordable all-nylon line that doesn't stretch much at all, there is no reason to have that nasty wire anymore along with that troublesome splice.
If you go with all nylon halyards, you will not have to replace the sheaves. Remember, the nylon goes through the sheaves now when the halyard is completely down. Wire/nylon splices were used back when nylon line stretched a bunch. Now that our mad scientists have figured out how to make affordable all-nylon line that doesn't stretch much at all, there is no reason to have that nasty wire anymore along with that troublesome splice.
NO! NO! NO!
Nylon Halyard. You will be lucky to get it all the way up. You certanly will not be able to get the bags out of it once you do get it up. Nylon is STRETCHY. That is why it makes a great anchor rode. Think about it, if nylon is cheeper and works better why does no one use it for halyards. Nylon tail on a wire halyard, well I suppose that would work as long as the wire gets to the winch at some point in the hoist.
Nylon Halyard. You will be lucky to get it all the way up. You certanly will not be able to get the bags out of it once you do get it up. Nylon is STRETCHY. That is why it makes a great anchor rode. Think about it, if nylon is cheeper and works better why does no one use it for halyards. Nylon tail on a wire halyard, well I suppose that would work as long as the wire gets to the winch at some point in the hoist.
Bill's right, but I think the idea that Mike
offered is correct. You don't want nylon for a halyard because it stretches, but you should be able to remove the halyard with the wire and replace it with a Dacron halyard. Check the West Marine catalog or on-line Advisors for recommended materials, like Sta Set X, from New England ropes. Most skippers have their favorite halyard materials, and Alan's recent post indicated that there are plenty of less stretch materials out there if you're interested. Stu
offered is correct. You don't want nylon for a halyard because it stretches, but you should be able to remove the halyard with the wire and replace it with a Dacron halyard. Check the West Marine catalog or on-line Advisors for recommended materials, like Sta Set X, from New England ropes. Most skippers have their favorite halyard materials, and Alan's recent post indicated that there are plenty of less stretch materials out there if you're interested. Stu
replacing halyards....
First, it's not nylon.... it's polyester or a blend. nylon will stretch, fray, not run well.. Take five minutes and read the west marine advisor as Stu recommends. Second, you haven't mentioned why you want to replace the wire/rope halyard with all rope. Is it to save money? You can order a new, pre-spliced, wire/rope halyard from defender.com for well under a hundred dollars. Finally, the most important thing you need to know about the masthead sheave is it's width. Since you don't mention what kind of boat you have, check the specs on your boat and see what size the sheaves are, then make your decision to replace with dacron/polyester or wire/rope. I will guess that you're using a 1/8" wire/3/8 inch rope. One advantage of wire halyards, besides very low stretch, is that they allow a very narrow sheave. On my Cat 27 the sheaves are just over 1/4 inch wide, which restrict the size rope that will run freely. You can use rope in the wire sheave, but it must be small enough to run well. Last week we talked about tapered and stripped halyards. That is one solution for the small width sheave problem. Or you can change the sheave. Check the archives for those discussions.
First, it's not nylon.... it's polyester or a blend. nylon will stretch, fray, not run well.. Take five minutes and read the west marine advisor as Stu recommends. Second, you haven't mentioned why you want to replace the wire/rope halyard with all rope. Is it to save money? You can order a new, pre-spliced, wire/rope halyard from defender.com for well under a hundred dollars. Finally, the most important thing you need to know about the masthead sheave is it's width. Since you don't mention what kind of boat you have, check the specs on your boat and see what size the sheaves are, then make your decision to replace with dacron/polyester or wire/rope. I will guess that you're using a 1/8" wire/3/8 inch rope. One advantage of wire halyards, besides very low stretch, is that they allow a very narrow sheave. On my Cat 27 the sheaves are just over 1/4 inch wide, which restrict the size rope that will run freely. You can use rope in the wire sheave, but it must be small enough to run well. Last week we talked about tapered and stripped halyards. That is one solution for the small width sheave problem. Or you can change the sheave. Check the archives for those discussions.
I have a 37' Irwin
The lines are shot. Frayed. Wore out. The sheave is 1/4 inches if I remember right. Last night I found a few places that make 1/8th line (with an incredible 2000 lb breaking strength) to a larger one for handling ease. The wire line is the only part of th eline that goes through the sheave. It is a foot longer than the mast so that when the sail is fully lowered, there is still wire rope in the sheave. Both the main and the staysail (cutter rig) need to be replaced.
The lines are shot. Frayed. Wore out. The sheave is 1/4 inches if I remember right. Last night I found a few places that make 1/8th line (with an incredible 2000 lb breaking strength) to a larger one for handling ease. The wire line is the only part of th eline that goes through the sheave. It is a foot longer than the mast so that when the sail is fully lowered, there is still wire rope in the sheave. Both the main and the staysail (cutter rig) need to be replaced.
oops
yup, I meant to say dacron, not nylon. My bad. I still hate those wire/line combination halyards. I had one boat that came with one and it was the first thing to go.
yup, I meant to say dacron, not nylon. My bad. I still hate those wire/line combination halyards. I had one boat that came with one and it was the first thing to go.
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