Line for pulling halyards?

witzgall · #1 (**permalink**) 12-10-2007

Hi all;

We are having our boat trucked from the lake where we bought her down to the coast where she belongs. The truck is showing up Wednesday, I am going to take all of the running rigging off Tuesday night. It is old, needs replaced, and because we wont have alot of time to prep the mast before the truck arrives, I htink pulling it off while the mast is still on is my only option.

What is the best cord, and method, to put fish lines in the mast as I pull the rigging off? I have some Mason's cord, but that is quite slippery. Do I sew it through the end with a large needle, or is there a better way to do this?

Any other words of sage advice?

Chris

christyleigh · #2 (**permalink**) 12-10-2007

I had my trade-in trucked from Mass to Annapolis and was not required to remove the halyards. Secure (tie/tape) most definitly - but not remove.

Boasun · #3 (**permalink**) 12-10-2007

You will need some line for them to pull your leg also... Wait!? Apparently they have done that already... You don't need to remove the halyards, unless you are really seriously security conscious.

cockeyedbob · #4 (**permalink**) 12-10-2007

Leave 'em, buy new, sew ends, pull through, yer done.

witzgall · #5 (**permalink**) 12-10-2007

I am going to be replacing all of the running rigging anyways, So my thought on this is that by removing them prior to shipping, I have one less thing to secure onto the mast, and to worry about. I am respondsible for getting the mast ready for the truck, and I cannot get my head around how I can safely and securly tie up all of the halyards.

If somebody can show me a photo of what this might look like, duct tape, bubble wrap, etc, than maybe I can start to understand how I can tape it all up safely. Is it a simple matter of having each halyard taped alongside the mast in several places and then double up the bitter end at the base of the mast?

We also won't have much time, as the truck is going to be there an hour after the mast is pulled.

sailingdog · #6 (**permalink**) 12-10-2007

Generally, I'll use a whipping to connect the thin messenger line to the halyard. This usually allows it to go through the blocks and such with little trouble. I generally use a 3mm or 1/8" messenger line, since anything thinner is much more liable to jump the sheaves and get snagged where it shouldn't be.

cockeyedbob · #7 (**permalink**) 12-10-2007

Tie big knot (keeps halyard from entering mast)
Pull halyard at other end until stopped by knot, neatly coil, and tape securely to mast.
Yer done.

When you're ready to replace halyards, just pull 'em through with the old ones.
Yer done.

Just curious, but what were ya plannin' to do with the bubble wrap?

jrd22 · #8 (**permalink**) 12-10-2007

We just prepared our boat for shipment (Honolulu- Seattle). I agree with the advice above to leave halyards in place. Get some of that clear wrapping plastic on a wide roll and some packing tape. Tie the halyards to the mast and then go around them with the plastic and then tape it. We bubble wrapped the entire mast and then used the plastic so the mast was completely covered, but you may not need this depending on how far the boat is going. We also took all of our standing rigging off so that no wire would chafe on the mast while pounding down the freeway, the company told us some masts have been completely ruined by this (ours is being trucked from San Diego to Seattle). Also, make sure they use carpet pads under the mast where it will be in the cradles and where any straps contact the boat. One other detail, wrap the top and bottom of the mast so you don't get road grit all through the sheaves and inside the mast. Good luck, our boat arrives this Friday or Monday. I'm a bit worried that I didn't get everything winterized in Honolulu, kind of hard to find RV antifreeze over there! Best of luck, John

witzgall · #9 (**permalink**) 12-15-2007

All done - it was actually alot easier than I thought. We left everything on the mast, standing and running rigging, and wrapped it with saran wrap and duct tape. Where needed, we used old tee-shirts and pieces of rug to protect from metal to metal contact. Took about 2 rolls of duct tape and 2.5 roll of target brand saran wrap.

boat and mast arrived without a hitch the next day down in Washington, NC. I unwrapped the mast myself in about 20 minutes, and using 1/8 in messinger lines, pulled off all of the old rigging in about an hour or so.

Thanks for all of your help and guidance!

Chris