Nielsen,
For the life of me I can't think of a single reason to have wire halyards anymore on a boat. In fact I can barely think of a reason to have wire (other than electrical) on a boat anymore at all. Modern
line is lighter, cheaper, stronger, stretches less, cheaper, has lower life cycle costs, and doesn't run the risk of slicing your hand apart from meat hooks.
Even on a cruiser, I would recommend tapered endura-braid, or an all dyneema SK-75
line with an end and cover spliced over wear and handling areas. The last time I ran the prices to do this (about 3 months ago) is was roughly 2/3 the cost of a sta-set
line, but with much better stuff. Of course I do my own splices, so figure the costs should be comperable if you pay someone to do it.