Where to run the halyards

[jarcher]

Hi All...

Im posting this here as opposed to the Gear and maint section because I'm looking for a racing perspective. I would particulary appreciate input from people who routinely crew the foredeck.

The spinnaker, main and two jib halyards on my 30 foot Scampi all come out the aft bottom of the mast via small sheves, and run aft to line clutches at the cockpit. Good enough, but I am thinking that I would prefer to run at least the spinnaker halyard out the side of the mast, down to a block then aft.

The idea of course is so that the foredeck crew can hoist the chute, or the cockpit crew can do it. I would add a jam cleat on the mast so the foredeck crew could cleat it after the hoist.

My questions are:

How high should the halyard exit the mast? I was thinking high enough so a tall person could reach all the way up and pull as far as possible, like maybe 8 feet?

Should I consider doing the same with the two head sail halyards?

Thanks...

[blt2ski]

We have the head sail halyards(2) and the spin halyard leaving the mast about 5-6' up, run down to blocks, then to the back of the cabin. Even my main exits about 5' up. This way a fore deck person can "jump" ie pull the halyard along with a winch person in the cockpit to get the halyard up ASAP, be it a jib or spin change out.

I think you will find most race boats setup with the ability to have some one at the mast pull, along with a cockpit person operating a winch and clutch option of some sort.

Marty

[Faster]

I'd argue that even the main halyard could/should be set up that way... much easier to hoist, esp if couple cruising, if one person can jump it at the mast.

They can't all be the same height, of course, you'll need to stagger them to avoid excessively weakening the spar, but between 5 and 7 feet up should allow most crew to get a pretty good jump.

Here's another idea: for the spinn halyard, run it through a mast-mounted clutch - then the mast man or even the foredeck crew can hoist it by jumping it, the clutch holds it while the pole gets properly set etc. When you have some time, pull the tail through to the normal cockpit-located stopper so it can be released from the cockpit on the douse. (don't forget to open the mast-mounted clutch, though!!)

[jarcher]

Originally Posted by Faster

Here's another idea: for the spinn halyard, run it through a mast-mounted clutch - then the mast man or even the foredeck crew can hoist it by jumping it, the clutch holds it while the pole gets properly set etc. When you have some time, pull the tail through to the normal cockpit-located stopper so it can be released from the cockpit on the douse. (don't forget to open the mast-mounted clutch, though!!)

Clutch is a cool idea, I was thinking of a jam cleat but the clutch is a cool idea too...

How far should the openings be staggered to keep the mast strong?

[Faster]

I would think a foot apart, staggered fore-and-aft with 2 per side would be plenty. Place only one exit at any given height in the mast.... but I'm not a rigger so it would be best to consult an expert.

On our boat they are closer together than that with no apparent issues.

[wunhunglo]

I agree with Faster. Halyard stoppers particularly on the spin halyard, make life a lot easier for foredeck and pit.
Here's some Schaeffer stoppers that would be OK for a Scampi. BTW: You have a great boat in the Scampi IOR half Ton. One of Peter Norlin's best. Excellent in heavy air. Does yours now have a taller rig than the original design?


I would put the stopper at a height as high as you can so that the mast crew almost has to jump or stretch to reach it. Any lower and it makes it awkward to put body weight into to "jumping" the halyard.

Re: halyard exits: given the reasonably easily handled size of the rig on a Scampi, except for the spinnaker halyard exits, I wouldn't cut any more exits in the mast. The genoa and main halyard should be easily handled by the pit crew on a hoist, and there's often not as urgent a need to hoist as fast as possible as much as there is on a chute. i.e. if doing a headsail change, it's not critical to take 10 seconds longer hoisting compared with a chute where 10 seconds might have it filling before it's up.

[zz4gta]

I've seen cam cleats also used to hold the halyard up. A clutch is too big and too much work to open. On a 30 footer, a mast man would be a good idea if you have extra crew. On my 25' a mast man would just get in the way.

Make the spin exit on the starboard side if you normally do port roundings. Keeps the 'jumper' on the high side.

[Gary M]

On my 30 footer we use a cam cleat a Harken 150 on our spin halyard, to me a clutch is too complicated.
I would also suggest getting rid of your pole topping lift and using your spare jib halyard instead. Saves weight and complexity.

[blt2ski]

Why can I not find the schaefer halyard stoppers at their website. I was hoping to find a better picture as to how said stopper was mounted. I could see using this on my boat, to aid when sailing with spouse, with myself forward at the mast letting things down slower than my foot dragging the line, then again this may NOT be what I want/need either.........

marty

[jarcher]

Hm, I thought I replied to this but I now can't find the reply...

Someone on another forum suggested I do it the way that the J80 handles it. There was a picture of an interesting cam cleat with a riser. The halyard came out of the mast and down through the riser. When the halyard is pulled down and away from the mast the halyear goes through the cam cleat. When the halyard is pulled straight down it comes out of the cam cleat.

So I guess it could be uncleated from the foredeck or from the pit if the halyard is run down through a block at the mast step and then aft...

This solves the issue of having to be able to reach a clutch to open it or any other cleat to uncleat. So now a short foredeck person can do the job if the halyard exits the mast at about 7 feet up.