Good topic.
I have a question regarding halyard "Technique". My masthead is a tapered
rig, and has three closely spaced WIRE sheeves facing forward, Port, Stbd, and Center. The lack of space precludes me from using any of the newer high-tech solutions. The
line''s diameters are too big for the sheeves for the loadings on a 37'' masthead rigged IOR race boat.
My question is this:
The traditional method of using a wire hayard is to get two or more turns on a
winch before you go to the splice, hence the 4 small
winches at the mast partner. This necessitates a person going to the cabin top to raise and lower sails, two if you are racing and have a crew "Jumping" the halyard at mark roundings. Weight forward never a good thing in the squirlly IOR desings, and it gets crowded.
I am looking to replace my three forward halyards, and bring the tails to SpinLocks on the cabin top near the cockpit. A pair of self tailing
winches behind port and stbd banks of three locks on either side of the companionway. Can I trust the wire/rope splice? How much can it hold and are there any techniques to improve the strength of the splice?
Thanks for any and all input.