once in a while we return to the boat to find the main halyard tangled around the mast and tangled thru our lazy jacks. we have even gone as far as tightening the halyard on the main winch to keep slack out, but even this doesn't stop the halyard from somehow tangling around the spreaders and mast. amy ideas???
tangled halyard
- Thread starter mortyd
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Easy fix. Secure the main halyard either on the outhaul (aft end of the boom), or forward of the shouds on the toerail or lifelines. The least favorable place would be securing the halyard at the tack of the main...it will likely bang against the mast.
thanks for both answers but they do negate of of the features of my stack pack which has a clip to keep the halyard aft of the mast while still rigged to the headboard. keep in mind that my halyard does not come through the mast, but over the top and down the aft of the mast and through a deck organizer to be clutched on the cabin top.
Are you sure that it is not clanging on the mast? You fellow dockmates may be tying it up for you.
I have a strap that goes through my sail cover about half way on the boom, that my main halyard clips to. I pull it snug and no banging on the mast. A boat a few slips down has tried several ways to keep his halyard from banging against the mast but he clips it to the mast and has the sail cover as high up over it as possible. Pulling it taunt and putting budges on it don't help. It wasn't banging this weekend so I think someone helped him change it. My spiniker halyard is clipped to a ring on the deck next to the spreader cable.
guys, i'm on a mooring so banging is not the problem. the halyard wraps itself around the mast. i may go back to taking the halyard off the headboard after sailing, but as i said that would negate pne of the main advantages of the stackpack, which is to leave it riggged all the time.
guys, this is a catalina 30 forum and i don't know how familiar your are with a catalina 30mkii, but one equipped with a stak pak properly set does not suffer from mast slap, which has nothing to do with my problem, but thanks for the replies.
Odd that the halyard could wrap itself around the mast after being tensioned and tied-off to a cleat, or held by a jammer. I can only think it came loose during some heavy weather. I can't picture how, if it remains on the mainsail headboard, and then goes straight up to the masthead sheave, how a stackpack could have any influence as a "wrap preventer". A halyard removed from the headboard and re-clipped to a stackpack loop around mid-boom? Yes, then it would be a component factor helping the situation, but otherwise I can't see the existing concept. How about some pics?
We always unclip our main halyard and bring it aft (as far back as the traveler) and we attach it to the upper starboard lifeline, away from the mast and boom. Then we snug tension to it at the Spinlock. The halyard can't wrap around anything out there, when properly held taut.
Rob
We always unclip our main halyard and bring it aft (as far back as the traveler) and we attach it to the upper starboard lifeline, away from the mast and boom. Then we snug tension to it at the Spinlock. The halyard can't wrap around anything out there, when properly held taut.
Rob
rob, i too am mystified which is why i posted this question. the stak pak has a cilp at the top that holds the tensioned halyard well aft of the mast. this is supposed to prevent slapping - it does - and prevent slack in the halyard - which apparently it doesn't. it seems just a tiny bit of halyard slack is causing the problem, maybe.
Good suggestion Steve, pehaps some personal experience there, heh, heh.
I would hope if a neigbor secured the halyard, he would leave a note for the owner telling him what happened.
steve, you have a point. maybe somebody heard my halyard banging, took his own boat or a club launch, cilmbed the mast and tangled the halyard around the lazy jack block near the top of the mast. i hadn't thought of this.
mortyd,
I'm trying to picture what your saying as the halyard would have to be pretty loose to get tangled. I have a Dutchman set up and I clamp my halyard on the port upper shroud chain plate if I'm saying that right. It sounds like you leave yours attached to the sail? Either way my halyard runs through a rope clutch and locked. I can't see how it could loosen enough to tangle into anything?
I'm trying to picture what your saying as the halyard would have to be pretty loose to get tangled. I have a Dutchman set up and I clamp my halyard on the port upper shroud chain plate if I'm saying that right. It sounds like you leave yours attached to the sail? Either way my halyard runs through a rope clutch and locked. I can't see how it could loosen enough to tangle into anything?
makes two of us. to help you understand , i have a stak pak and on the top edge of the stack pack is a ring clip. the halyard is left on the headboard and led aft along thru this clip to keep it away from the mast.one of the supposed advantages of the stak pak is the ability to leave the halyard on the headboard, my sailmaker now says even a little bit of slack can foul the top lazy jack block and he plans to move the clip further aft on the stak pak over the winter. both the sailmaker and our local rigger have arrived at the boat while the halyard was tangled around the mast near the top and also around the spreader and both gave a large shrug.
hey bob, talk my captain into letting me re-rig my duthman and problem solved. no more lazy jacks, no more turning into the wind to furl my genoa.
sorry again bob, of course i meant to drop my main, not to furl my genoa, without turningin into the wind
Hey Mort, It seems like your halyard is swinging around like hopscotch up there. How about easing those lazy jacks and bringing them forward when you leave the boat? Make sure they get snugged straight down the mast or a bit forward of the mast. Leave them that way until after you raise the main (no batten tangling issues either, when raising the sail with the jacks forward). Then, after raising the main, return the lazy jacks to their functional position, ready for the sail drop at the end of the day, or reefing during your sail. That could work.
Rob
Rob
Lazy Jack Trick [FONT="][/FONT]
Many folks complain about full battens getting caught up when raising the mainsail. They then spend a lot of time moving BOTH sides of the lazy jacks to the mast.
We developed an easier way with our lazy jacks.
We have a small cleat on the forward starboard side of the boom. When we put the halyard on the headboard, we move ONLY the starboard side of the lazy jacks forward and snug them under the forward side of the horn of this cleat.
Then, when we raise the mainsail, instead of going exactly head to wind, we bear off a tad to starboard so the wind is coming from the port side of the bow.
We then raise the mainsail and it doesn't get hooked on the lazy jacks even though the port side jacks are still there.
Been working for 13 years.
Yes, we have to go forward again to unhook the starboard lazy jack for dousing the sail, but there's never any hurry.
So, for those of you with lazy jacks, consider doing only one side.
Your boat, your choice.
We developed an easier way with our lazy jacks.
We have a small cleat on the forward starboard side of the boom. When we put the halyard on the headboard, we move ONLY the starboard side of the lazy jacks forward and snug them under the forward side of the horn of this cleat.
Then, when we raise the mainsail, instead of going exactly head to wind, we bear off a tad to starboard so the wind is coming from the port side of the bow.
We then raise the mainsail and it doesn't get hooked on the lazy jacks even though the port side jacks are still there.
Been working for 13 years.
Yes, we have to go forward again to unhook the starboard lazy jack for dousing the sail, but there's never any hurry.
So, for those of you with lazy jacks, consider doing only one side.
Your boat, your choice.
rob and stu. first, it'd be much easier to not leave the main on the headboard and hook the halyard to a life line like i used to before the stak pak and never had a tangling problem, and stu, we have no big problem with the lazy jacks since we're on a mooring and it's no big deal to watch that the main is going up between the lazy jacks. but i do miss my dutchman.
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