Halyards: terminate at mast or cockpit?

[Battgirl 23]

34ft masthead sloop, all halyards and reefing lines etc run back to cockpit clutches and winches. Mast has one horn cleat on each side.

With this set up raising jib or main, putting in reefs solo can take longer than I'd like due to the inevitable jam ups at the mastbase sheaves unless I winch all the way from the cockpit.

 

I'm after ideas to tidy this up e.g a winch, clutches in the mast area or something that prevents jams at the sheaves and am interested in hearing what works well for people. Thanks in advance.

[Murky 1]

Be good to understand why you are getting jamming at the sheaves - it isn't (or shouldn't be) inevitable.

 

Especially if you are talking solo sailing, remaining in the cockpit is preferable for reasons like basic safety and remaining close to the helm.

 

There have been a few discussions in the past on systems for single-line reefing (along with good diagrams), but jam-ups will trip those up too, so eliminating them will be the first step.

[PaulR 3]

A lot of the Stewart 34's have their halyards run aft to clutches. Come and have a look on F1 pier and compare several different setups.

 

Panacea's main and genoa halyards are extra long, so we can lead them aft through the spinnaker sheet turning blocks, then forward to the anchor windlass. It makes hoisting the larger crew members and owners aloft a lot easier and I'd rather press the windlass foot switch than try to wind a person up using a very small winch.

 

If it is hard, your doing it wrong. Applies to a lot of things actually.

[PaulR 3]

leading ropes through a shackle and/or deadeye above the turning sheave can help the halyard feed through better. We do this on our topping lifts.

[w44vi 17]

I can't comment on your situation but my boat has the main halyards at the mast I can easily put a reef in single handed (45ft boat)

 

There are single line reefing systems that may suite your situation better, but I have no experience with then.

[Battgirl 23]

Thanks guys for jumping in.

I am happy with the set up of the reefing lines so I am now looking at the halyards and sheaves.

 

To raise the main at the mast I pull the halyard down with my left hand then pull it through the sheave with my right or it will pile up and jam on top of the sheave. Then I go back to the cockpit taking up the halyard slack as I go then put the halyard on the winch. Its messy and timeconsuming and there must be a better way which is why I'm thinking about having the halyards terminate at the mast. I'm thinking it would actually be quicker.

 

PaulR I would like to take up your offer of checking out the Stewarts at F1 please. Anytime next Thursday would work for me thanks.

[Marshy 30]

Could you simply mount a V-Cleat or similar on the mast? Hoist the main at the mast and cleat it in the V-Cleat, Then walk back and tail the tail through and when you tighten it up from the cockpit it will pop from the V-Cleat?

[PaulR 3]

Could you simply mount a V-Cleat or similar on the mast? Hoist the main at the mast and cleat it in the V-Cleat, Then walk back and tail the tail through and when you tighten it up from the cockpit it will pop from the V-Cleat?

 

We do this with our spinnaker halyard through a rope clutch at the mast. Foredeck crew hoist.

 

Theory:

Then in "peaceful calm" of the downwind leg, the excess halyard tail is fed back to the cockpit hatchway through another rope clutch before the winch.

 

Then before dropping, the mast rope clutch is released and all the load is taken by the aft rope clutch / winch and the spinnaker halyard is lowered by the cockpit crew whilst the foredeck crew do their best to recover the "dry" spinnaker, as we round the leeward mark.

 

Other days other things make life exciting.

[PaulR 3]

PaulR I would like to take up your offer of checking out the Stewarts at F1 please. Anytime next Thursday would work for me thanks.

PM sent

[Murky 1]

To raise the main at the mast I pull the halyard down with my left hand then pull it through the sheave with my right or it will pile up and jam on top of the sheave. Then I go back to the cockpit taking up the halyard slack as I go then put the halyard on the winch. Its messy and timeconsuming and there must be a better way which is why I'm thinking about having the halyards terminate at the mast. I'm thinking it would actually be quicker.

OK, I get it now - basically a mismatch between the setup and the way you are using it. The worst of both worlds, to be honest.

 

IMHO, the two-stage "hoist, then deal separately with a bundle of slack halyard" is never going to be a winner long-term - the aim has to be that it all happens in one seamless and flowing move.

 

Obviously it all makes more sense when you have more than one person on board and can therefore have one hoisting at the mast and one in the cockpit simultaneously tailing the halyard through the clutch. But I understand that is not the case for most of your sailing.

 

Our boat (Y88) has a double-purchase main halyard which, along with giving the mast track the occasional burst of silicone, is enough to allow me to hoist both main and headsail from the cockpit, which is where the clutches and winches are. I find staying stable is more important than pulling through heaps at a time - the odd knee wedged against the cabin helps. I am 40+ and skinny and not in the same shape that I was when I was 20!

 

If that is never going to be a physical possibility for you on your boat in the way that you are doing most of your sailing, then yes, I would agree that is probably telling you that it would be better to have everything located where you actually use it. Then it just becomes a question of how much you want to spend doing that/how long you intend keeping it/whether you want to undo what is there at the moment or alternatively, replicate it at the mast so any future owner has both options.

[Battgirl 23]

Thanks guys for taking the time.

Murky. You're right it should flow seamlessly and it does make sense to try and do it from the safety of the cockpit as much as possible. I'm not a spring chicken myself.

 

Marshy-Mercenary I like the idea of the V cleat on the mast.

 

PaulR Thanks for your time to show me some different setups so I can end up with that seamless flow sooner rather than later.