New Halyard Advice

[DrB]

Okay,

I did a search and got mixed results, so I ask again.

I need a new halyard for my main.

• Boat: Pearson 10M Tall Rig
• Current Main Sail: 2008 Hood Vektron (6.0 Ounce) 2+2 Battens, Loose foot
• Performance Oriented Sailor
• Looking for a balance of cost and performance

I talked to a rigging guy at the Boston Boat show and he suggested T-900 from NE Rope. T-900 is pricey, so do I need?

Other ropes being considered: VPC and Sta-Set X?

Thoughts? Sources for inexpesive sources of line?

DrB

[dbruce85]

Try Cajun Trading, they are in Nova Scotia so the dollar is in your favor.
good luck,
David
Cajun Trading Company, commercial and pleasure marine cordage rope products, Boating and Yachting Supplies, running rigging kits

[PalmettoSailor]

Originally Posted by DrB

Okay,

I did a search and got mixed results, so I ask again.

I need a new halyard for my main.

• Boat: Pearson 10M Tall Rig
• Current Main Sail: 2008 Hood Vektron (6.0 Ounce) 2+2 Battens, Loose foot
• Performance Oriented Sailor
• Looking for a balance of cost and performance

I talked to a rigging guy at the Boston Boat show and he suggested T-900 from NE Rope. T-900 is pricey, so do I need?

Other ropes being considered: VPC and Sta-Set X?

Thoughts? Sources for inexpesive sources of line?

DrB

VPC would be my vote for your stated purpose which happens to be very similar to mine and my new VPC halyards are being delivered in the next week or so. My sailmaker sourced the VPC so I'm not sure where he got it.

NE Rope markets VPC as an economic alternative to full on race products like T900. It uses the a blend of Vectran and polyfin for the core with a polyester cover and standard construction so you can use a standard double braid splice if you're a do it yourselfer.

Good Luck.

[blt2ski]

Not sure what VPC is, but I use Sampson? XLS extra.

Otherwise, if you are just cruising, not worried about stretch etc, Sta-set will work fine for most folks. Approx stretch diifferences off the top of my head, staset is 6-7% and XLXe is 1.5-2% at the same % of max pull.

Marty

[JimsCAL]

Check out Defender (www.defender.com). They have good prices and work with a rigger to make up things to your specs. Sta-Set X is probably not the best choice for you. Consider a lower stretch line like Warpspeed or Ultra-Tech.

[Sanduskysailor]

3/8" VPC. Pretty good low stretch. If you want the best performance try something like V-100 with solid vectran core. Main halyard usually can be adjusted pretty easily with either halyard or cunningham so V-100 might be overkill. Stay away from Sta SetX. Tends to be stiff and likes to kink. I have VPC for all my halyards on my 29' cruiser/racer thanks to an online sale at WM last year at $.68/foot for 5/16".

[Gary M]

I would second 3/8" Warpspeed and Defender has an arrangement of some sort so they have good pricing on Sampson line. They may have a sale on soon and usualy discount Warpspeed a fair bit.

Gary

[121Guy]

Hi Dr. B,
You have some excellent suggestions so far. It would be helpful to know what the halyard on the boat is now, and how you feel about how it performs. Does ist stretch too much, is it hard on the hand, did it wear at a particular point? . Things to consider would be the sheave setup at the masthead. If the sheave is the original it is probably set up for wire. If so you may need to modify or replace it for a line conversion. How do you cleat the halyard? If it terminates in a rope clutch you may be diameter restricted. Some rope clutches don't like small diameters. If the sheave and clutch issues are resolved, my choice would be 5/16 Spectra Core from Cajun Trading. Roughly 1/2 the price of the T900 with very similar stretch and feel. I have some of this in larger diameters along with the T900. It is very hard to tell which is which both from an appearance and performance comparison. Four seasons of fairly hard use and no wear to speak of. This line requires a core to core eye splice which isn't hard to do if you do them often but if you haven't done one, I'd consider sending your old shackle and let the pro splice it.

Good luck,

121Guy

[Shortman]

on my Pearson 34. Hamilton Marine has a pretty good price on VPC. $1.94 @ 1/2" & they will splice. I have been wondering about Sta Set X vs. VPC & there are a few answers here. Pyacht refers to Sta Set X Plus which NE ropes has no reference to on their website. I sent pyacht an email this afternoon asking about it.
There's a good point made about sheaves, I plan to replace because current halyards are wire & may have chewed up old sheaves. Rig Rite has Pearson mast parts.

[paulk]

You might also want to check Sailnet's line pricing....
Sta-set is probably too stretchy for the racing you do, though it's certainly strong enough, and probably less stretchy than some wire halyards. We've had kevlar halyards part because of wear/bending at the masthead sheave. You might want to check your sheave diameters before going for some of the more finicky fibers.