Thank you both for your feedback on this. It's a weird setup, because from what I can tell, the tracer (learned a new word!) goes into the mast through an opening labelled "Spinnaker 1" (tied off on a cleat on the other side of the mast) and also comes out the mast on the bottom (tied off at the gooseneck). But it also seems to come out of the mast above the forestay! I'm not sure I'm explaining it correctly, but I have attached three pictures, which I hope show the setup.
I'm assuming that that's the spinnaker tracer coming out above the forestay...
Thanks again!
Nico
Great pictures. That explains it to me. You have a fractional rig (versus a mast head) and your spinnaker does not fly from the top of the mast but from just above the fore stay. So, how to install the spinnaker halyard. First, do you have the halyard? If you do then there should be an eye on at least one end to take the shackle. There might also be what is called a "French eye", which is not structural on the tail end of the halyard. You will attach the halyard to the messenger and then run the halyard through the mast making sure that the structural eye exits the mast above the fore stay and the French eye, if there is one, exits the mast goes through the turning block and finds it way back to the cockpit.
The best way to attach the halyard to the messenger is to thread the messenger through the eye of the halyard, turn the messenger back on itself and the whip it down. I would take a few stitches through the two sections of the messenger before whipping it. It should then flow cleanly over the sheave above the fore stay, through the mast and out the port to the turning block. It's amazing how many words it takes to describe this really simple process.
Some where here on sailnet there is a post with photos of this, but I couldn't find it.
Good luck.
John