Adding a new halyard

[Jotun]

Is there a way to add a new halyard to the inside of the mast WITHOUT taking down the mast? I do have the extra sheave and slot, and I do not want to run the halyard on the outside of the mast.

[sailingdog]

Use some drapery chain or bicycle chain to feed a messenger line down the mast, fish it out the exit slot using a wire hook. Attach it to the halyard, and pull it through the sheaves.

[blt2ski]

I did what SD mentioned, but used the halyard, when I lost a few of them for different reasons shapes or forms. IE the tracer line got disconnected from the main halyard, and another halyards splice went haywire!

I sent the halyard down the mast, and fished it out with a hook, screwdriver etc. This weekends project with a new spin halyard line.

marty

[Jotun]

That's what I want to add--a spin line. Doesn't the chain get hung up on other stuff inside the mast?

[sailingdog]

You don't use a very long length of it... it is just there to weight the end of the messenger line. The messenger line I normally use is 3mm or so, and it doesn't require much weight to bring it down the mast. The thicker the line, the more weight is generally required to feed the line down the mast.

[Idiens]

If the halyard is for a spinnaker, you might not want to use a normal halyard path. It's usually better to have the Spi-halyard exit the mast below the mast head, go to a block on a bridle on the head, such that the block can move on the bridle to face the Spinnaker when on a close reach.

[Valiente]

I agree with Idiens. I put a Ronstan block and a 7/16" line on a U-bolt attached to a Y-shaped mast-top plate for my spin halyard to keep it clear of the forestay. When not in use, I just tie the ends together to make a loop and lash it to the mast base.

[SailorMitch]

The sheave arrangement at the top of the mast in part can determine how to run a spin halyard. On my boat, the forestay attaches slightly below where the halyards exit the masthead on the front side. There's room for 4 jib/spin halyards at the front side, and room for 2 main halyards on the back side. Either outside halyard of the 4 on the front can be used as a spin halyard according to my rigger. I could've installed a crane when I had the mast unstepped a couple of years ago for the spin halyard, but the outside halyard works well.

The bicycle chain also comes in handy because the bitter end of the halyard needs to go up, then over the sheave then down the mast. The space is always tight to keep the halyard in place and it's nearly impossible to get either a halyard or a messenger line that you can push up and then have it fall fast enough down on the back side of the sheave. The chain naturally follows the curve of the sheave and falls neatly down the inside of the mast. As others have said, use a piece of wire to fish it out of the exit box on the side of the mast.

[Jotun]

The forestay on my Catalina 27 also ataches below where the halyards exit the masthead. Maybe I can use the empty sheave for the spin halyard after all. I wasn't really ready to add a crane and all that. Thanks for the advice every one.