Spinnaker Halyard Routing

[Lee Hadjiosif]

I tried to pull a spinnaker halyard last weekend and came up with a few questions. The pull line was running up inside the mast, exiting about two feet below the top (I have a fractional rig) and was tied to a ring just below the mast halyard sheeve. This ring is about two inches in diameter and is fastened on the front of the mast in a horizontal plane and it looks like it may interfere with the spinn. halyard. Do I feed the halyard down through the ring or around it? Is the purpose of the ring to keep the line exiting down and keep the line in the sheeve or does it have any other purpose? And since we are on the spinnaker issue, does anyone have any experience with the off the shelf spinnakers listed in the West Marine catalog? Thanks. Lee

 

[Miles]

Spinnaker Halyard...

I have the same setup on my Hunter 340. I put a large rubber doughnut on the end of the halyard a few inches above the shackle Then the halyard runs through the ring on the mast and into the sheeve. The doughnut (I'm sure there's a more nautical term) butts up against the ring when the spin. is hoisted and keeps the shackle and head of the spinnaker out of the sheeve. I'm sure you can find one at West Marine or your local rigger, looks sort of like a flattened golf ball.On mine the messenger line broke while I was trying to pull the halyard through but it was pretty easy to just drop the halyard down inside the mast and fish it out the exit sheeve with a coat hanger. Good Luck!

 

[Les Murray]

It's called a spinnaker bail

The ring on the front of the masthead is called a spinnaker bail. What you do is attach a block to it for the spinnaker halyard to feed through. This block can be either a snatch block or just a regular swivel block. The ring allows the block to slide from side to side as you tack the Spinnaker across the bow.Good luck and fair winds,Les Murrays/v Ceilidh86 C-36 #560

 

[Doug T.]

$$$

Most people have better things to do with their money than position snatch blocks in places that they can't reach except from a bosuns chair. A simple block is fine. (Make sure it swivels, though.)

 

[Lee]

Halyard Bails

If I understand it correctly, the block on the bail is for masts with no provisions for internal halyard. My hunter has the spin halyard already coming out of the mast about two feet felow the top and one foot above the forestay with an exit block. Just below the exit block there is this bail and the only explanation for it in my estimation is to prevent the snap shackle from jamming into the sheeve with the rubber doughnut as Miles explained and/or to keep the line facing down and prevent it from coming off the sheeve. WM actually carries these rubber pancakes or doughnuts as spinnaker shackle guards for $13 but probably a tennis ball will do the same. Does anyone have any other explanation for this. Thanks. Lee

 

[Miles]

No block on mine...

I don't have a block on my bail, just a shackle guard (the little doughnut thing) around the halyard that butts up against the bail when the sail is hoisted. A block might be a good idea but then again it might just complicate things and increase the chances of fouling something. The fewer trips up the mast the better as far as I'm concerned!