[C38] Replacing jib halyard

[tdtron at earthlink.net]

I have been purchasing halyards for my boats from JSI in St. Pete Florida.  They sell a ready made halyard with a braided snap shackle for less than you can buy just the line and shackle elsewhere. I think someone in China braids them together for JSI but the quality is very good.

My method to replace a halyard is somewhat different from others but it has served me for half a century and has yet to fail.

I secure a 1/8" nylon line to the old halyard and pull it down while the new messenger is pulled in its place.  I then connect the new halyard to the messenger and pull the new halyard into place.

I have sketched a simple diagram to show how I connect the messenger to the two halyards.  It is just basically a couple of overhand twists followed by a clove hitch  and all taped over with electrical tape.  The 1/8" line is usually small enough to clear the sheaves but strong enough that you won't break it.  Continue the tape a couple of inches past the end of the halyard and a couple of inches past the clove hitch to keep everything snug.

This technique is fairly easy and one reason I like it is that it doesn't involve having to sew or splice anything.

I once tried this procedure on a friend's boat and the 1/8" line on the halyard wouldn't clear the sheaves so we just started over with heavy nylon twine using the exact same procedure and the twine worked fine and that was on a 65' mast with a fairly heavy halyard so if you want to just use heavy twine for this procedure, you will probably be OK but I felt safer using the 1/8" where I could.

Another advantage of using heavy twine is it is much cheaper and comes in longer lengths but get the heaviest twine you can find.

Tom Troncalli 



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Pierre Patino 
To: Catalina 38 Listserve
Sent: 5/19/2012 9:53:27 PM 
Subject: [C38] Replacing jib halyard



Hello All

As a test of my "seamanship" I've decided to replace my jib halyard. I've never done it before and I spent some time reading all of what was posted regarding halyards on this list since 2005. According to another web site, the recommended length is 117'.  I want to go with no-wire Sta-Set X 7/16" which at about $120 appears to be "cheap" enough. A YouTube I saw showed it's all a matter of butt-splicing the ends (old to new) together with waxed thread and pulling through.

Newbie questions:


1) Is 117' the correct/best length? (jib is mast-cleated)
2) 7/16" diameter OK?
3) Sheaves/pulleys OK with all-nylon rope?
4) YouTube video too optimistic?
5) Am I going to regret this?


Thanks for the advice.

Cheers
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