Internal or external halyard?
Hi Glenn, Is the halyard for your jib internal or external? If it's external, you can take a trip to the top of the mast in a bosun's chair, and run the new line through the sheaves by hand. If it's internal, it MAY be possible to run a new halyard using some light line; You would need to attach a small weight (some washers?) to the end of a length of light line that's the same length as your halyard. Then, on a VERY calm day, you go to the top in a bosun's chair, and feed this line into the sheave opening for your jib halyard. The weight will pull the light line inside the mast to the base, where you can fish it out (with a bent coat hanger?). Then, attach your jib halyard to the light line and use the line to pull your jib halyard back through the mast. I recommend the VERY calm day because there is nothing inside the mast to prevent the light line from wrapping itself around the other rigging/wiring inside the mast, so you want your boat to rock as little as possible while you perform this trick. You'll also want some tension on any rigging inside the mast, so it doesn't swing around in there. All the usual safety concerns still apply, too- harnesses and backup lines are a must! Good luck, --Jon Bastien H25 'Adagio'
