Routing halyard lines

[Tim Taylor]

everything i read tells me that in order to single- hand safely you should have all of your lines leading to the cockpit. as it is now my 18.5 is great after i have the main up but i need be on the deck to raise it which leads to some dangerous/embarrasing situations. i head into the wind and lashdown the tiller but when i step up on the deck my weight make the boat list/turn and by the time i have the main up i'm on a beam reach (read as in trouble).  my question is has anyone routed their main halyard to the cockpit and if so how? also has anyone relocated the winch from the mast back somewhere for use w/ their rerouted main halyard. the 18.5 is a rather small boat so there isn't a great deal of space on the deck adjacent to the companionway. i think i have a setup in mind that will work (using a "flat" block") but i'm fishing for anyone who has actual experience and hopefully a workable rig. cheers.TTaylor"Carried Away"

 

[FRED FEAGIN]

Singlehandling

We get a lot of wind on my lake. I'm pretty new at this. I own a 23.5 and I put my tiller in a tight circle and do my raising of jib first then I hoist the main when I come into the wind. Then get ready for a wild ride if your timing is off.Good LuckFred

 

[Paul Jaudon]

main halyard

Where is your winch located? My 18.5 has the winch on the on the starboard deck just in front of the cockpit seat. I thought this this was where all of them were. At this location I do not have to go onto the deck to raise the main.

 

[Peter Kozup]

Tim, I've done exactly what you're asking about and for the same reason you're asking. Going up front when you're singlehanding isn't that much fun and is potentially very embarrassing. On my boat the main halyard comes out of the bottom of the mast on the starboard side. I angled a deck organizer (mine is a 4-wheel organizer, but it is a bit bigger than it needs to be -- a 2 or even a 3-wheel organizer would probably be better as it takes up less room) at just the right distance from the mast step to allow the halyard a straight run back to the cockpit. Because the mast step is a bit higher than the deck, I put a wooden block under the organizer. Near the cockpit I put in a new winch -- a small one, no trouble to install and fairly inexpensive -- and a cam cleat fore of the winch. I run the halyard straight out the side of the mast, through the deck organizer, back through the cam cleat to the winch. It works very well. I also run the line from my furling jib through the organizer. If you're not sure what a deck organizer looks like, try the Garhauer catalog, www.garhauermarine.com and you'll see what I mean. I decided that it would be a lot easier to leave the original winch on the mast where it was and install a new one back by the cockpit. The winch on the mast is still handy if you need it. If you like, I will send you a photo of what I've done. You can contact me on email at pkozup@juno.com . Good luck, and enjoy the boat. I sail mine on Lake Erie at Sandusky Bay.Peter S/V Katy Kaye