[AlaskaMC]

Hey all you sailors! Getting ready for splash time here in AK and it is time to make some decisions. One of our projects is moving our halyards back to the cockpit and a odd thing has come up. We have always assumed that we would bring them back on the port side, but now that we are thinking about it the only reason we can come up with for this is that it was that way on the boat we learned on. Are most boats rigged with the halyards on the port or does it matter?

The reason this has become a question is that many things on the boat have been mounted on the port side of the mast and it would be simpler to run all our lines down the starboard.

Any thoughts on port vs starboard?

 

[RichH]

Run your halyards, etc. so that its the EASIEST and most CONVENIENT for raising / lowering /reefing, etc. while you're on STARBOARD TACK ... which gives you certain 'right of way' - as a stand-on and not a burdened vessel - while doing so.

 

[Stumble]

It really depends on which side of the mast they come out of. Crossing them under the boom leads to bad lead angles.

 

[FSMike]

Traditionally on a sloop the jib halyard runs down the port side of the mast and the main halyard runs down the starboard side.
If tradition gets in the way of an efficient method, chuck the tradition.
But it's good to be sure.

 

[Gust14882]

My boat is rigged as Mike says above, but I'd like to add that my single-line reefing is right next to the main halyard on the starboard side. That makes it much easier to reef.

 

[AlaskaMC]

Great posts all! Thanks. I think we are going to go mock it up raising the mast and playing both ways. I think it will end up on the starboard though as we both noted while talking about it this evening that we like going up to the foredeck on the port side, just seems more natural. So, starboard tack, tradition being different anyway, no reefing of that fancy line sort, stuff on the mast, and no in mast halyards means we can decide what works best.

Ice is slowly melting. 1 foot or so left in the lake with a planned PWS trip in June now.

 

[killarney_sailor]

I think if they come down the starboard side it is a little easier for a right-handed person to do the work and see what is happening. Overall i don't think it is deal-breaker either way.

 

[Alex W]

My jib and spin halyards are on port, main is on starboard. All of my controls that are routed back are organized this way: foresail controls port, mainsail controls starboard.

If you have roller furling I'd recommend keeping your jib halyard at the mast. It makes doing single handed sail changes easier (because it is easier to route the halyard forward to the foredeck) and you don't adjust the luff tension all that often. I figure a cost of $50-$150 per line for running them back, and there are better lines to run back than that one.

 

[AlaskaMC]

My jib and spin halyards are on port, main is on starboard. All of my controls that are routed back are organized this way: foresail controls port, mainsail controls starboard.

If you have roller furling I'd recommend keeping your jib halyard at the mast. It makes doing single handed sail changes easier (because it is easier to route the halyard forward to the foredeck) and you don't adjust the luff tension all that often. I figure a cost of $50-$150 per line for running them back, and there are better lines to run back than that one.

Nope, we are still hank on sails here on the little Mac. Gonna rig up just a downhaul to bring down the sail at some point and save roller furling for a bigger boat.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[AlaskaMC]

I think if they come down the starboard side it is a little easier for a right-handed person to do the work and see what is happening. Overall i don't think it is deal-breaker either way.

This is what we were wondering and wanted to test. Good to hear as we are both right handed.

This is sounding more and more like I don't have to move a bunch of stuff on the mast.