Halyard grips

Hi, I just purchased 2 halyard grips to mount on the mast. Has anyone used these grips and do they work well to keep the jib from hanging up on the halyards when tacking?

The mounting instructions were 36" to 48" below forestay shroud tang. But my question is how far back from the front of the mast should they be mounted? I am thinking at about midway between front and back of mast.

Any thoughts are welcome.

Have a great day!

I have used them. They definitely help, although they won't guarantee that in light air you will not still catch a few jib battens. So I would still cut your jib battens to a length that still lets you tighten them while leaving the smallest amount possible hanging out of the pocket.

I believe about halfway back between front and back is correct.

I put them on my boat this year, one on each side of the mast. I now wish I had only put one for the main halyard. To use the grip for the jib halyard it must be hooked before tension is applied to rig the boat which can put a lot of tension on the halyard grip. I tried it a couple of times which worked but quit using it due to thinking it was going to break at any second. Then when I raked the mast a bit forward for lighter winds the forestay ( which at these times I did not have a small bungie attached) hooked on the grip (due to BOAT WAKES) and I had to go to beach, undo the forestay from chain plate to get it free. The halyard grip on the left side of my mast will be removed before next year. I switched over to the super battens which has eliminated the jib hangups except for very light air. Even then it really is not a problem anymore.

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07 H16
Sail No. 110387

Agree.....they're more trouble than they're worth.....everything hangs up on them. After seating the main halyard in the halyard hook, run it back around (behind) the shroud and trap wires before cleating. That'll keep it out of the way some.

For the jib, your can attach a fiddle block to the bridle chain plate (for 3:1 purchase) and tie the jib halyard off there after tightening. It's a little more difficult to rig, but keeps the jib halyard completely out of the way and puts the mast compression on it's long axis. Not class legal, though.

Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mi'sippi

I installed the grips on my mast as close to the luff track as I could. Even though the main halyard can easily be routed out of the way, I install a grip on both sides of the mast. Despite what the instructions say about vertical placement, you might want to identify which batten hangs up the most and mount the grip at that location. For me it was the second batten with a lot of mast rake and the second and third batten with less rake. I split the difference rationalizing the jib battens would hang up more frequently on light wind days where I would rig for less rake.