Michael, Forgive me if I missed this, Did you say that you checked the Metal SPACER between the Sheaves at the Mast Crane ? And.... IF you have the old style varnished CAMBRIC (Brown, looks like a cloth) Sheaves... They May Be Split through the middle. You'd have to CLEAN them to be sure.
IF.. The metal Spacer between the sheeves is bent or out of alignment, and the sheaves move a bit sideways.....It will act like a Brake Shoe and virtually Stop the sheeve. Also, When I changed my sheaves from the old style Cambric type, I found the ALL the sheaves had SPLIT inside. So when DOWN pressure was put on the sheeve, It OPENED up slightly. Just enough to touch the Spacer Plate and Drag... Had I not cleaned the OLD sheaves, I would have never seen the Crack/Split.. Dirt filled the crack. Before, It took all my strength to get the main up ( I have a furler on the Genny, so I didn't notice the problem there).. After replacing All the sheaves ...That solved the problem.. Somewhere I have photos of the Sheave problem. I'll look to see if I can find them.. If you wish. Regards, Ralph Ahseln "Oblio" 1984 C27 From: Michael Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 10:26 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [IC27A] Re: Way Too Much Tension on the Halyards Under Load - Please Advise Thanks for the responses: The halyards aren't showing any excess wear (that I can see). Is there any way to check if they are binding to electrical cables or themselves without unstepping the mast? Is there a way to tell if the hole in the sheave is elongated without taking it apart; ie would it wobble a little when I spin it? I have no idea when or if the sheaves have ever been changed. There are two spare sheaves (one on either side of the ones currently in use) to which I could switch. Thanks again for the help. Michael
