SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!
Hello! I recently purchased a 1967 Islander Bahama 24. She is beautiful, but needs to have most all lines installed. How do I decide what diameter/what type of lines to get? Thanks for your help!
Well, I would go as big a diameter as will fit through the sheaves. Thin lines may be plenty strong enough but will shred your hands. So I would say use 10mm if possible or 8 mm if 10 mm is too big. 12mm is nicer but will definetely be too thick to fit.
You may want to talk to a shop that sells running rigging as there is more to it than just diameter. Different types of line have different strengths and strech ratios. I recently replaced all my 3/8" diameter halyards with 5/16" lines made of Dyneema which has higher ultimate strength and less strech than the old lines. West Marine has a pretty good guide to lines in their catalog that would give you a pretty good place to start.
St Anna is right too, you have to use a diameter that will fit the sheeves too.
My previous boat was an '67 Islander Bahama 24. I believe the halyards were 3/8" rope attached to 3/16" wire. You should check the sheaves to verify the size wire or rope they will handle.
Low stretch line more important on halyards than on sheets. Hand-feel (line size, fuzziness, etc) more important on sheets than on halyard, unless you tune your halyard a lot.
What you need, is nothing more than 1/4" diameter. What feels good in your hand is up to you and your crew. I use line from 7/64th to 3/8th on my 25 footer, but most of that has to do with low stretch and low weight. If you're not concerned with that, then buy a spool of 3/8th sta-set and be done with it. Use it for the whole boat. Not a great line, but it works.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
SailNet Community
1.7M posts
173.8K members
Since 1990
A forum community dedicated to Sailing, boating, cruising, racing & chartering. Come join the discussion about sailing, destinations, maintenance, repairs, navigation, electronics, classifieds and more