wire to rope on a Cal 30 mainsail?

[RNC725]

went to raise the mainsail in the dark, didn't use any light at all, didn't hold m'hand correctly as I was raising it and the wire halyard got jammed -- took about 25 minutes to carefully 'unjam' it. One frayed wire, cut palm of hand several times as a result, and then I got to thinking, whey not rope?

1. just as easy to jam?
2. I like the idea of rope over wire anyways?

Benefits? Drawbacks? You guys are a wealth of info here and I do appreciate it.


Bobby

[Faster]

Common practice today to change old wire/rope halyards to all-rope. The original argument was that rope stretched more than wire.. this is no longer true with many of the newer prestretched lines available.

Another issue is whether the rope will pass over the original sheaves. In the case of wire/rope splices there's not usually a problem, in the case of old wire - rope thimbled joints, the sheave may be wire-only. This could be a problem for the rope which needs to be larger diameter if only for the ability to hold onto it. If you find the rope will pass through you're probably going to be OK.

Cuts and wounds from wire barbs are no fun.. change over and you'll be glad you did.. less deck cleanup too - blood stains can be a problem!

[svHyLyte]

On your little Cal switch to 1/4" braided Spectra with a cover added to the portion of the halyard that will wrap your winch. You'll be glad you did.

FWIW...

[Melantho]

Yep, switch to the low-stretch line. You don't have to go Spectra unless your sheeves can't handle the regular line. First thing I did to my Cal when I bought it--removed that silly crap.