What size line should a main and Jib halyard be?

[Skipperdan]

I am sure that the original setup was wire and line, but was converted over to braided line.
The two cleats on the mast are only 4" cleats and the halyard is 3/8 which seems too big for the cleats. Mast is 30' long. Should I go with a lighter Halyard or should I use a larger cleat. I have a couple of 6 1/2" cleats available. I do not have a Jib halyard yet so I do not know what that was. The pulleys look about right for 3/8" but maybe on the small side.

 

[CloudDiver]

8mm or 5/16"

 

[dlochner]

There are 4 factors to consider when choosing the halyard size, stretch, strength, rigging, and hand.

Low stretch is good. For your boat an "old school" line like Sta-Set X will be fine. You could go with a high tech line, but that would be expensive and probably more than you need. For the small cost difference, Sta-Set X is better than a line like Sta-Set.

Strength relates to the breaking strength of the line and is related to stretch. Skinny hi-tech lines have more strength and less stretch than comparable old-school lines. A 5/16" high tech line might be equal to a ⅜" old school line.

Rigging refers to the blocks, sheaves, cleats, and so on. A smaller line will always run better through bigger blocks and sheaves, but won't work in bigger line stoppers. The halyard sheave size is probably the limiting factor. Small line works in big sheaves, big lines won't work in small sheaves.

Hand is how the line feels in your hand when you are handling the line. Some lines are soft and supple, easy on the hands. Other lines are stiff, slippery, and hard on the hands. Sheets should be easy on the hand because they are used a lot. For main halyards the hand is less important because the sail is hoisted once each time the boat leaves the dock. If racing, hand is important for the jib halyard because it will be raised and lowered several times during the race, but it must be balanced against stretch. So you want a low stretch jib halyard, but one with a comfortable hand but not necessarily as soft as a jib sheet.

So with all that said, the short answer to your question is, for the main halyard 5/16" Star-Set X or equivalent would be a good choice for both main and jib halyards.

 

[Stu Jackson]

dl is right, good presentation, except for:

Sta-Set X is better than a line like Sta-Set.

Yes, except for the fact that SSX sucks completely. It has a horrible hand and gets stiff. If you want a good comparison, compare regular Stay Set to some Samson line that compares to ssX. I'm not the only one who has disparaged ssX over the years. I wouldn't have it anywhere near my boat.

Disclaimer: Before I knew any better, I bought regular Stay Set for my halyards. They DO stretch, so I use a lot of cunningham on the main and tighten the pendant of my jib after unfurling it. If I had to do it over again and knew better, I'd get some Samson line. But I've "gotten by" with my two halyards for the past 18 years. Not too shabby. Cruise mostly, but raced regularly and successfully for 7 or 8 years.

 

[Sumner]

.... If I had to do it over again and knew better, I'd get some Samson line. ....

I've used Samson LS and LST yacht on the Mac over the years and recently bought the same for the Endeavour. I like how it works and the price is right but I have no comparison to anything else except the old lines that were on the boats and not sure who's they are. You can find Samson on here at the store.

I also have larger lines than needed for strength on the Mac so that they are easier on the hands but the lines I bought for the Endeavour or sized for what is suppose to be the correct strength as they are large enough to be easy on the hands,

Sumner
===================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas

 

[Skipperdan]

well my new halyard line came today. 5/16 vpc from Milwaukee rigging. $1.09 foot. I made my first spice (not pretty) and I forgot to put the shackle on. now I have to look around on the internet for a better way and if there is a specific slice for VPC. also I saw that the wand was better to use than the fid. looking into that also.

 

[Skipperdan]

Just watched a video, the mistake I made was the second mark, I made it at the top of the loop instead of the bottom. (Pictures worth a thousand words) or two in my case.

 

[Skipperdan]

I think I am going to use this method.

 

[weinie]

http://www.animatedknots.com/halyard/#ScrollPoint

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

dl is right, good presentation, except for:


Yes, except for the fact that SSX sucks completely. It has a horrible hand and gets stiff. If you want a good comparison, compare regular Stay Set to some Samson line that compares to ssX. I'm not the only one who has disparaged ssX over the years. I wouldn't have it anywhere near my boat.

Disclaimer: Before I knew any better, I bought regular Stay Set for my halyards. They DO stretch, so I use a lot of cunningham on the main and tighten the pendant of my jib after unfurling it. If I had to do it over again and knew better, I'd get some Samson line. But I've "gotten by" with my two halyards for the past 18 years. Not too shabby. Cruise mostly, but raced regularly and successfully for 7 or 8 years.

e
Yep- rigged a customers boat with Staset X and it's nasty. Fights you when you coil it ,and just doesn't FEEL right. I'll never use it again. on my own boat, I use Sta set. If it stretches a bit, I harden the downhaul- no big deal

 

[DrJudyB]

e
Yep- rigged a customers boat with Staset X and it's nasty. Fights you when you coil it ,and just doesn't FEEL right. I'll never use it again. on my own boat, I use Sta set. If it stretches a bit, I harden the downhaul- no big deal

+1
And it hockles a lot.

 

[MattObjects]

Check your sheaves while you have the mast down. If the boat originally had wire-to-rope halyards, your sheaves likely have a recess for wire below the recess for the rope. On wire-to-rope setups, the rope would travel over the sheave to haul up the sail but the wire would be on the sheave while the sail was under load. The sheaves weren't designed to carry line under load. If your new line is smaller than the original line on the halyards it may jam in the wire recess on the sheaves. Even if it doesn't jam, the wire-to-rope sheaves will cause unnecessary wear to the line. New delrin sheaves are pretty affordable (under $20 each for a smaller boat) and will protect the investment you've made in new line.