Page 1 of 1

Haliard wear in outer covering

Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 4:30 am
by newt2u
My last sail resulted in having to put in one reef at just 6-8 knts. The reason was a break in the outer covering of my main halliard, which I could not get through the deck fairleads or rope clutch. The break coincided with the hold point in the clutch with the main fully hoisted. I have since ordered a new length of rope but it seems obvious now that this is going to be *the* point of wear.

My question is what can be done to avoid this again... I had the following thoughts but would welcome input on whether others have had the same problem and/or have solutions.

1. reverse the halliard every season - only possible on F21s lifted and demented every season also requires attaching the halliard with a bowline rather than a snap link.

2. have a slightly over length halliard and tie of at the head with varying length tails

Re: Haliard wear in outer covering

Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 11:55 pm
by Belanich
The first question I have is how old is the halyard and what is it made of? My main halyard (Sampon Dacron double braid) is well over 10 years old and the cover by the clutch shows very little wear. I suspect the cover is not Dacron (maybe some type of UV sensitive material) or there is something wrong with your clutch that makes it chafe.
The second question is why to you have to unstep the mast to reverse the halyard? Why can't you send a messanger line up the mast? Also if you want to use a snap shackle you can attach the halyard to the snap shackle with a halyard knot.
MB

Re: Haliard wear in outer covering

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 3:34 am
by newt2u
I really wanted to know if this was a general problem, but from what you say, with decent rope it is not, thanks. The halliard was at least 18 years old as that is how long Rockin was laid up before I bought her but the mast and rigging were in a workshop so not exposed to uv. As far as I know it could even have been the original. As to unstepping, I overwinter Rockin ashore on my drive and trailering her home is difficult with the mast up ;). I have ordered a good quality, polyester, double braid replacement.

Re: Haliard wear in outer covering

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 10:04 pm
by Camino
Belanich- I don’t have a 21 - recommend check the clutch unit for broken parts that cause chaff and replace the halyard. Rope clutches fail and parts shear off, causing significant chaff ....

Re: Haliard wear in outer covering

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:20 pm
by newt2u
Just got back to the boat again... new halliard fitted. I did check the clutch over and as far as I can see it is working perfectly, jams and releases OK and all parts seem to be where they should be. I can only assume the old halliard has just been there a long time. On inspection of the outer, following replacement, I did see other bits wear around the break point. Lets hope that's good now for another 20 or so years!

Re: Haliard wear in outer covering

Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2020 5:14 pm
by jlodolce
18 years is a long time for halyard life expectancy