Caring for your halyards

S

Seth

Sustaining Partner
Since my last reply to Keith's thread, I got to thinking about this topic, and for those of you who use your boats infrequently, and/or store your boats for the off-season with the masts up, you have a problem in that your halyards are left exposed to the sun and wind-degrading all the time they are not being used..

The solution is what we do on the race boats EVERY Sunday when the boat is put away for the week: Keep a tag line for each halyard on board. When you are done sailing, be it for the day, week, or several weeks/months (depending on much you like your halyards-or how long you want them to last), simply attach the tag lines and pull them through until the halyard is down. Disconnect the halyard, rinse with fesh water(if in a salt water environment), coil, and stow below. If you have upgraded to higher quality halyards, this will protect your investment by a huge factor-you will double the life of the halyards, and have much higher confidence in them when they are in use.

In fact, some of you can even choose to re-run only the halyards you expect to need that day, keeping the spinn. halyard, for example, safe and dry if you have no plans to fly a kite. Of course you can always change your mind while sailing, as this can be done anytime, anywhere.

Some will do this every time they go out, some only for the off season, and some other will do it when they will be away from the boat for a few weeks.

However you do it-it is good for your gear, and also gives you chance to fully inspect them more frequently!

This only adds about 5-10 minutes to your pre-sailing preparation, and shows excellent seamanship and boat sense.

Love your boat and she will love you back!

Fair winds,
S
 
S

Seth

Sustaining Partner
Tag line>

Fair enough Steve! A better term is a "MESSENGER" line!

A "Tag Line" is another common term for a very light, thin line, which is not intended to be load carrying, and serves to be left in the place of whatever functional line is not in its' usual spot-such as a halyard, outhaul, or other line which is either hard to access or to re-lead. They are used when, for example, you are going to replace your worn out outhaul (the inside the boom with lots of purchase type), but don't want to have to relead the whole thing after you pull the old one out. By tying a tag line/messenger line onto one end and pulling it through as you remove the old one, the system remains properly led. When your new outhaul (as an example) is ready to install, you attach it to the tag line/messenger line and pull the new line through-and everything is still through the correct blocks, etc.

Same with a halyard. If you just simply pulled a halyard out of the mast, you would have to do what I described in my last post to Keith-go up the rig, drop a line (a tag line) through from the top of the mast then try and retrieve it at the bottom. Sometimes this is easier than other times, but you always have to go up the rig.

If you use a tag line to remove the old halyard, then all you have to do is attach the new halyard to the tag line and pull it through. When you are finished reinstalling a halyard, the tag line is laying on the deck, ready to be put away until the next time you need it.

They simply take the place of a halyard when it is not in use (left in the mast), and make it easy to reinstall..

Have I rambled on too much? Sorry! :oops:
 
Q

Quiet Magic

Member II
Thats kind of what I thought...

I had a feeling thats what they were for, but now a new question. Whats the best way to attach a tag line to a halyard, because if you tie too big of a knot wont it get stuck in the mast crane?
 
C

chrism

Inactive Member
Another way to do this would be to simply tie some clothesline to the shackle on the halyard, and then haul the shackle to the top of the mast. The stuff inside the mast is protected from sun, and the rest is on deck and could be tucked under the mainsail cover, or you could create some sunbrella pouches to put them in... Seems easier than removing them.

In the winter, most masts are stored outside after being unstepped, either on deck or next to the boat. If the mast is outside, it's a good idea to remove them, inspect them, soak them, and then store them inside until springtime arrives.
 
Chris Miller

Chris Miller

Sustaining Member
Best way we've found...

Since we only do this at the end of the season, I usually just use whipping thread and sew 2-3 small loops at the end of my halyard, then just loop the end of the messenger line through those loops and tape the loop in the messenger line tight.
Another thing that will help reduce chafe and wear is to run halyards away from standing rigging when you leave the boat if you haven't run messenger lines. Clipping them at the base of the mast will increase the risk of chafe from banging on the spreaders and other fittings. Clip them to the bow pulpit (headsail and topping lift halyards) and the outhaul fitting or another deck fitting (main halyards).
Just thoughts,
Chris
 
V

valentor

Member II
One of the best ways to attach the messenger line to the halyard is by splicing a loop in the bitter end of the halyard. This is done by peeling back the cover, cutting the core short, then threading the cover back into itself with a fid. The thin loop is then lock-stitched and forms a very flat loop to which the messenger can easily be tied.

This type of loop is often called a "bury."

The only other advice I have to offer (as a loyal follower of all Seth's advice) is to use line for the messenger (tag-line) that is of sufficient diameter and does not stretch very much. What has happened to me was that the messenger line stretched and found its way btween the sheave and the block body. It jammed and I had to go up to free it.


-Steve
 
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