Hi David,
This might be helpful, this year I replaced all four of my halyards with the mast still in place. First I cut the shackles off the halyards using a soldering iron (so they wouldn't fray at the cut). Then I sewed the ends of the halyards together using a sewing awl and very strong nylon thread. Then (keeping tension on both ends of the line) I carefully pulled the new halyard through the mast. It worked like a charm on all four halyards. I bought the sewing awl for about $5 from Harbor Freight, I keep it on the boat and use it for whipping lines and making repairs. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91812 I hope this helps - Good Luck, Bill Pellegrino _/) SV Aquadesiac #5705 Port Edgewood, RI http://baysailorbill.spaces.live.com/ To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:33:17 +0000 Subject: [IC27A] Shredded jib halyard - fixing without stepping mast? So, while sailing in fierce 25 knot winds today, our jib was REALLY hard to re-furl. (We have an old Hood Systems furler.) We both scratched our heads on that. We know we need a better way to keep the drum bottom half from turning as much as it does now, as it chafes the furling line but it was never as difficult to furl as it was today. And then I notice something "up there". Shock and horror, there's the jib halyard, about an inch or two, shredded and hanging. I gave the halyard a tug (from the cockpit) and sure enough it was loose. So problem #1 is figuring out how it got cut. I think something's up with the furler at the top, the length of remaining halyard attached to the sail appears to put it right at the top of the furling pole, where the forestay cable/fitting goes up the rest of the way. I'll get some photos tomorrow to share. Problem #2 is how to run new halyards. (Our spinnaker halyard is old and due for replacement anyway. Thankfully it's still fully rigged though.) I was thinking this: 1. Remove block at base of mast for forward halyards. 2. Attach two new halyards to bottom of current Spinnaker Halyard (SH). 3. Go to top of mast (bosun's chair / main halyard + spinnaker halyard as safety backup) 4. Pull on the old SH and get both lines to the top. 5. Remove both forward sheaves. 6. Separate the new halyards and reinstall sheaves. This will be a pain in the rear... 7. Repair / make safe the rigging at the top so we don't have to do this again. 8. Fish bottom of lines through the block we removed and reinstall. 9. Enjoy a frosty cold beverage. What do you fellas think? And your thoughts of what went wrong? We've had this boat for 6 years, it's not like we've been shredding halyards all this time. Thankfully. :) My #1 concern is the furler. I could swear I see the fitting that connects the top of the furling pole to the masthead looking twisted .. and I don't think it's supposed to look twisted. But I might be wrong! The furler spun fairly freely by hand at dock. Appreciate the ideas in advance, David [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
