Thanks Phil and John for the advice! The halyard restrainer looks like a very good idea.
We did some work today and determined that the top of the extrusion is what chafed the halyard. (I did note that it was exceptionally windy, 25+ knots, when it was cut!) We referred to the furler manual and determined that our jib was too far down the pole. We took a short length of line and, after about an hour's trial and error, fitted it between the tack and the drum -- previously attached directly via just a shackle. This brought the top swivel to within about an inch of the top of the extrusion. The halyard is now completely clear of the extrusion as a result. The manual made it clear that it's bad to have more than an inch or inch and a half between the extrusion top and the swivel -- and we experienced exactly why, it appears. John's advice for a way to get above the mast head is helpful too. For now, we won't have a spinnaker halyard so we may just rent some time at a crane, too :) Happy Sailing! On Sat, Jul 18, 2009 at 2:07 PM, John Harker <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I replaced the sheaves at the top of the mast and it turned out to be > pretty straightforward. They are held in by pins secured by cotter > pins. Note the order of things before disassembling. I brought a > curved piece of metal to hook under the sheave to prevent it falling and > help position it. Also it helps to be higher than a bosun's chair will > get you - so your eyes are a foot or so above the mast instead of level > with the top. I brought an old tubular nylon climbing ladder and > draped it over the top evenly and stood in the rungs on either side like > stirrups to get this extra height. You could make something similar of > rope. > > Mine had aged, worn and cracked to the point the jib halyard jammed. I > replaced them with some nifty metal w/ball bearing ones from Catalina > Direct. > > John Harker C27 'Prana' #6261 Santa Cruz > > > dsavlin wrote: > > > > > > > > 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]
