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main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
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Author:  RobPatt [ Sat May 16, 2009 11:30 am ]
Post subject:  main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
main is difficult to raise, even with battens rather loose and lubeing the bolt rope/luff.... pointed into the wind of course....

my halyard is rather frayed, giving a bit more friction, but

was thinking to go w/a thinner 3/16inch smooth fresh new halyard....

is 3/16 oK? thanks.
Author:  ncmbm [ Mon May 18, 2009 9:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
It will not be easy on your hands but will hoist the sail. I use the halyard to raise the mast, if you do as well make sure the line you choose has some dyneema in it for strength. Since the sail is cleated once up all the halyard has to do is lift it up the track. Maybe you have some other issues that effect hoisting?
Author:  srm [ Mon May 18, 2009 12:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
Quote:
Maybe you have some other issues that effect hoisting?


That's what I'm thinking. 3/16" is awfully small. Since the halyard doesn't take any pressure while sailing, I'd expect the small diameter to be ok, but I've definitely used larger without problems. I use a pair of plyers as a handle by wrapping the main halyard around them several times whenever raising gets tough - much easier on the hands than rope.

Make sure the sheaves at the top and bottom of the mast are running free. Also clean the entire luff track with soap and water. Then lube with silicone spray or McLube.

sm
Author:  Sail Revolution [ Wed May 20, 2009 12:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
If your halyard is swollen 1/4" stock line it can cause considerable friction on the bolt rope. I routinely sell 3/16" line for halyard, and have used it on my 18 since about 1996 or so. Use a good quality, tightly braided line like Marlow 8 plait or FSE Robline 8 Plait Dingy Sheet and it will hook you up. Don't use Sta-Set or Sta-set x or any softly woven, waxy junk line. If your sail is difficult to hoist, lube the heck out of the bolt rope with Silicone Spray, McLube, etc.

Image

Hope that helps. Happy sailing!
Author:  RobPatt [ Thu May 21, 2009 7:52 pm ]
Post subject:  man... I just got 3/16 sta-set X....
..... west marine had it 20 percent off.... I got about 60 feet.

But still, yes I think you nailed it... when I took the old 1/4 halyard out parts of it were so frayed it was like half inch or something line.... so lots of friction there.

i guess the 3/16 sta-set i put in will be good for a few seasons, then can put in something w/an even tigheter braid as you suggested...

thanks!
Author:  Harry Murphey [ Tue May 26, 2009 6:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
SAILKOTE ..... SAILKOTE .... SAILKOTE !!!!!!!!!

Spray both the lufftrack and the boltrope ......


I've been using a 3/16 main halyard for many years ...... when hoisting DO NOT pull w/ your hands/arms but pass the halyard around you (at your butt) and use your legs. I pull/hoist the sail up by pushing/walking backward until the sail is just about to "hook". I then "reset" w/ one leg pushing off the rear crossbar ... slowly straighting my leg ..... and feeling the "hook" ...... click.


And yes I still have a flipper thingy on my mast ... and I like it !!!!!
Author:  Skipshot [ Wed May 27, 2009 10:50 am ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
What Surf City Catamarans said about Sta Set is true - it's junk for a halyard. My 3/16 Sta-Set halyard is at the beginning of its second season. Last weekend I was about to hoist the main when I noticed only a few strands were holding the halyard ring, so I cut off the end, re-tied it, hoisted the main, and enjoyed a day of sailing. Taking down the main later the same day the re-tied halyard was again holding the halyard ring by a couple strands. I am now looking forward to a new 3/16 halyard from Surf City Catamarans - thanks Jeremy.
Author:  RobPatt [ Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
Well I'm using the 3/16th sta-set for several sail sessions now and it's working great... SO MUCH easier to raise the main.... and lowering... it just comes right down. Think I'm set for a while and will upgrade to better line later.
Author:  OlderBowman [ Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
CLEAN your sailtrack. Before spraying in SailKote, make sure your track is cleaned well.
We had the 55' mast of our J109 out of the boat over the winter and cleaned it good.
What used to be an effort to raise the mainsail is now a breeze!.. and we didn't need to use the SailKote.
Author:  Tom Machette [ Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
I usually rub paraffin wax on the bolt rope before the start of each year. Unlike the sprays like sailkote paraffin wax only needs to be applied once maybe twice in a season,because it doesn't wash off as easily when you flip the boat. When I apply the wax I just rub it into the bolt rope and make sure I have a fairly good coating.
I have only had a few problems when raising my mainsail, which I almost always do by my self. Usually it is a hang up when it changes tracks at the comp tip, but if you take a screw driver and widen the bottom of the comptip track it will fix this. Any other problems I've had while raising my sail comes from user error, like forgetting that the main sheet is wrapped around a batten.
That's my trick, i hope it comes in helpful for a few of you.
Author:  The Dog [ Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
Guys... Get a rigging tool. Wrapping the line around your hand is dumb. And even with lubricants, there's a ton of drag (surface area = drag). Slip the line into the Clamcleat and you'll have the main up in a hurry.

Image
Author:  RobBartz [ Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
When I owned my H14. I used a generic hand lotion to lubricate the mast track and the sail went up incredibly easy. I have subsequently sold that and bought an H18. I have very little experience with the H18 and have only sailed it for practice 3X on our 1.5 acre pond- which is basicaly practicing constantly turning.

The H14 that I had used a 1/4 to 5/16 halyard and two pulleys at the top. The sail was held up by the halyard. There was a rope grip at the top for securing it, which I rarely used.

The H18 uses a halyard that hoists the mast up to locking mechanism that clicks on to my Aussie ring. During each of my trial runs of sailing the 18, I was not able to lift the sail high enough to latch on to the ring. The pond I'm talking about is surrounded by trees with a 10MPH max wind so I just wanted to try the thing out. My halyard is brand new and I just ordered it from West Marine and was sold as a 3/16" H18 57' Halyard.

I gave up trying to tug the rope so hard I could feel it stretch and just tied it off. The boat sailed very nice and was easy to handle.

The sail seam to seize up completely about 18" from the top. In desperation I tried some petroleum jelly on the bolt rope which made a big difference in general, but still siezed at 18".

My mast is slightly bent 1-2 deg. from whatever the previous owner did, but doesn't seam like enough to make a difference.

After reading the previous posts about useing Silione, Parafin Wax, and/or Sailcoat, I plan to wash off the petroleum jelly from the track and bolt rope.

After having said all that, my question is what is causing the sail to get exponentialy harder to raise starting with the last 4 feet and almost impossible in the last 18 inches? This occured in dead calm, or 5-10 MPH winds facing into the wind.

Thanks,
Author:  Wyatt [ Sat Jul 04, 2009 5:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: main halyard is 3/16 inch ok...?
I called Surf City and they sent me the 3/16 that they advise; red, blue and some other color available. Easy switch and what a difference it made! Got the ring on the halyard on the first try. Perfect solution, and thanks.

Works on both the stock sail and the square top mylar that Calvert built for me.

Wyatt
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