[SHNOOL]

I'm not a nationals level competitor, but I want to buy "decent" equipment for my boat. The boat has what appears to be 10+ yo halyards (and they are green from growth, as well as chafing really bad) they are obviously in dire need of replacement.

Anyway, I don't have tons of $$ to spend. I think I lucked into VPC (someone ordered the wrong length standard for a tall rig) on my Capri 22, and the prior owner did the halyards on my Capri 25, so I really haven't had to actually plunk down money for halyards myself yet.

So some info, the S2 association said that the boat originally had 3/8" basic double braid on it... It looks to me that my existing halyards are 3/8" double braid, probably XLS yachtbraid by the looks of it. http://www.s279.org/specs.html

My thoughts were to go smaller diameter, to 5/16 (as that was what I did on my Capri 25, with a similar sized mast and gear) but go with VPC or perhaps MLX...

So my question is... will any of this matter... should I just save money get the XLS 3/8 yachtbraid, or will 5/16 VPC be a better/lighter less stretchy alternative... would MLX be better, or another option be infinitely better for halyards?

We basically beer can race 8-10 times a year, under-crewed (2-3) in flat inland lake water with average winds 8-15 knots. We're a pretty informal bunch, but we have up to 6 S2 7.9s coming to the start line, they too are under-crewed but well sailed.

 

[Ajax_MD]

I like VPC. It provides good enough performance and ease of splicing at a lower price than Dyneema or other similar products.

 

[bobmcgov]

For a boat that size, 3/8" seems HUGE. Maybe for sheets, if you like the comfort of it; but for halyards & lifts, that's really fat. A 1/4" hi-tech line will have less total stretch, run faster, and weigh about 1/5 as much. We're looking at Control DPX among single braids; MLX and Warpspeed are also good core-dependent lines, comfortable to hold & strippable. Vectran and Technora are the lowest stretch/lowest creep alternatives, but pricey. Many club racers speak very highly of NER's Salsa, which was originally a dinghy control line but works well on larger boats, too.

 

[SHNOOL]

1/4" might (likely) be too small for the cabintop clutches I have, not that I hadn't considered it, maybe doing a taper to get there or the like. Hadn't considered warpspeed. But good to hear similar thinking that 3/8 is nuts for this sized boat.

But you are seeing where I am going, I actually need spinnaker, jib, main, spin top lift... So we're not talking a cheap set of lines... Luckily my sheets are "serviceable" they were stored inside, so I can eek out another season from them.

 

[bobmcgov]

Shnool: Most of the halyards on our 30' Ballad were 3/8"-7/16" double braid and DB-to-wire splices. We can get more strength with half the elongation with 1/4" modern lines. Probably go stripped 5/16" for the spinnaker halyards (which will also hoist the Code 0, so they need to be ultra-low stretch). We'll bulk the core and maybe add a short length of extra cover where clutches grip. Nice thing about halyards is they always cleat in roughly the same place. Adding a cover where they get clutched may extend life, too.

One possibility you may look into is buying roll-ends in a number of different species. Often retailers will have lots of 50' lengths of this and that, discounted. Sail with them for awhile, see if one brand appeals to you. Line preference is a very personal thing.

 

[sailingfool]

What the professional rigger selected for a Pearson 31-2:
Main - 8mm T-900
Jib -8mm T-900
Spinn - 8mm VPC

 

[sailingfool]

... Many club racers speak very highly of NER's Salsa, which was originally a dinghy control line but works well on larger boats, too.

I use the 3/8 Salas as a P31-2 mainsheet, while a little undersize, it serves wonderfully, kink-free, fast running and soft on the hand. Looks good too. But it is not low stretch from a halyard perspective.