Trick for removing broken halyard from inside mast

[smokey73]

I recently parted my jib halyard at top of the mast, right where it goes over the sheave into the mast. The remaining halyard dropped down inside the mast. When I tried to retrieve it, it bunched or formed a hockle that kept me from pulling it out and I didn't want to pull on it hard fearing that it might just set the hockle firmly and require me to drop the mast to retrieve it.

Putting on my thinking cap, I cut a long section of black inground irrigation hose, inserted the halyard into the hose and fed it into the mast. I then pushed up on the hose and "jiggled it" and retrieved a few inches to a few feet of halyard each time, repeating this until I had the halyard completely out. Just thought some of you who find yourself in the same situation may want to try an alternative to dropping the mast.

 

[JBP-PA]

Brilliant!

 

[dLj]

Brilliant!

dj

 

[Joe]

 

[smokey73]

Thinking some more (as my wife says, "I hate it when that happens") I am going to try to feed one of the same irrigation hose up the mast from the bottom to where the halyard feeds out from the mast. Then the mast climber (not me!) can reach in and feed a small chase line down to me on the deck and we can be sure the chase line didn't wrap anything on the way down as might be possible.

Brainstorming here, I may tie a chase line inside the hose with a loop at the top so all he has to do is reach in above the sheave with a hook and grab the chase line, attach it to the new halyard and I pull it down. Any other suggestions.

 

[Rich Stidger]

@smokey73 - Maybe you could send two chase lines in the tubing. Use one and tie the other one off for a future use.

 

[smokey73]

In case I wasn't clear. Here is a picture of the irrigation tube up the mast.

 

[smokey73]

@smokey73 - Maybe you could send two chase lines in the tubing. Use one and tie the other one off for a future use.

Probably will do that

 

[Sailor Sue]

Another alternative since someone will be going up the mast... We've had good luck tying a small messenger line to about 15 inches of bicycle chain and dropping that down the mast. The chain is stiff enough that you should be able to push it over the mast head sheave into the mast, and heavy enough that it won't hang up on anything inside the mast.

 

[jssailem]

You might consider a pencil lead for the end of your messenger. They are half the diameter of the irrigation tube. They will give the end of the messenger line some gravity assistance falling down inside the tube inside the mast.

Check you local fishing gear supply store. If you have problems finding it PM me.