Topping lift

[denby]

Originally Posted by knothead

That makes sense. If he wants to save a little money, He could extend the wire portion by shackling on a separate piece of vinyl coated wire and raising it to the masthead thereby lengthening the topping lift enough to get to the cockpit. That way he might not have to deal with the sheaves or change anything.

Looking this over again and I have one question. The 3/32nd steel cable does not ride on the sheave the 3/8th line does, by extending the steel cable I will now have the cable on the sheave instead of the 3/8th line. Will this cause a problem? I do like this idea.

[sailingdog]

A 3/32" steel cable will probably damage the sheave for the 3/8" line, causing damage to the line in turn.

[denby]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

A 3/32" steel cable will probably damage the sheave for the 3/8" line, causing damage to the line in turn.

Then I'm better off going 3/8th line all the way.

[knothead]

Originally Posted by denby

Looking this over again and I have one question. The 3/32nd steel cable does not ride on the sheave the 3/8th line does, by extending the steel cable I will now have the cable on the sheave instead of the 3/8th line. Will this cause a problem? I do like this idea.

Without actually seeing the sheave, one couldn't say for sure.
However, when a rope to wire splice is employed it usually indicates that the sheave is capable of handling either.
Normally, if the sheave is only for rope they wouldn't have bothered with the splice.
If the sheave were made just for wire they probably would have simply nico-pressed a thimble onto the wire and tied or eye-spliced the line to it.

[denby]

I think it might be best to go all line since 3/8th line is on the sheave anyway. How much could 100 ft of line cost anyway?

[sailingdog]

Denby-

Depends on the line.

[denby]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Denby-

Depends on the line.

Stay-setx.

[knothead]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Denby-

Depends on the line.

It really depends more on the sheave.
If the wire is spliced to the line. And if the splice passes over the sheave. Then the sheave is probably a Rope/Wire sheave.
If the splice doesn't pass over the sheave then it's probably a wire sheave and someone wasted their time doing a rope/wire splice. They could have just Nico-pressed a thimble and tied the line. (External) That would be a lot simpler and less expensive than the splice
If the topping lift is internal and the sheave is made for rope only then there was no need for a rope/wire splice at all.
That doesn't mean that someone didn't find a good deal on a rope/wire halyard and use it instead of just a piece of rope but who knows. Could happen

[denby]

Originally Posted by knothead

It really depends more on the sheave.
If the wire is spliced to the line. And if the splice passes over the sheave. Then the sheave is probably a Rope/Wire sheave.
If the splice doesn't pass over the sheave then it's probably a wire sheave and someone wasted their time doing a rope/wire splice. They could have just Nico-pressed a thimble and tied the line. (External) That would be a lot simpler and less expensive than the splice
If the topping lift is internal and the sheave is made for rope only then there was no need for a rope/wire splice at all.
That doesn't mean that someone didn't find a good deal on a rope/wire halyard and use it instead of just a piece of rope but who knows. Could happen

Without climbing the mast there is no way to know what sheave is there, but I think this is original from the manufacturer. The wire dose not pass over the sheave. Thats why I think it's a rope sheave. If I'm wrong what harm will it cause the sheave?

[knothead]

Originally Posted by denby

Without climbing the mast there is no way to know what sheave is there, but I think this is original from the manufacturer. The wire dose not pass over the sheave. Thats why I think it's a rope sheave. If I'm wrong what harm will it cause the sheave?

If the wire doesn't pass over the sheave then the wire is probably not spliced to the rope. That's the whole idea of a splice. To allow it to pass over the sheave.
Are you sure that the wire is not terminated in a nicopressed thimble?

A topping lift will probably not be subjected to the same loads as a halyard would be, and it's not too difficult to inspect a halyard on a pretty regular basis.
If the sheave is aluminum, then you will likely have more issues with corrosion than you will with the wire damaging the sheave.
Bottom line, you probably should climb the mast.