I am at present trying to replace my main halyard with a new wire to 3/8 line one.
Have pulled out old one, attaching a 1/8 line for a leader. On stiching the new 3/8 line to the leader it won't go into the mast and over the sheave, something is stopping it. I even sowed a 1/4 line and that wouldn't go through either. Any idea's? I would send someone up the mast but for thet I need the main halyard.

Mark, Do you have a rigging eye (flemmish eye?) on the new tail? Stitching the messenger line alongside the 3/8 may be too fat. You can make a rigging eye by pulling the cover back on the bitter end, cutting the core back, then stretching the cover past the core, then fold it back to make an eye (stitch it). Tie the messenger to the eye. Or, I've also just wipped the ends and loosely siezed the two lies together in kind of a butt joint. good luck.

I've done something like Seth did to replace my halyard. I used sail repair thread and a rigger's palm to stitch the two lines together in a butt joint, then used a single wrap of tape to smooth out the transition. Remember the line has to make two 90 degree bends rather than a single 180 degree change of direction.

My rope and wire main halyard needs replacement. I don't want to have to deal with wire if possible. I'm also thinking of going with a low-stretch polyester/dacron line. (I've been told that the specta/technora/etc. stretches so little that it will rapidly increase the wear of the dacron main, while low-stretch polyester/dacron will act as a shock absorber.) So I'm wondering:

1. Will a 3/8" all-rope halyard, with the cover on, still fit into the sheaves? I've done eye splices on double-braided rope and found that after the splice, the rope is thicker and doesn't bend as well; will that cause a problem when hoising the main?

2. My existing main halyard had a rope part that looks larger than 3/8", possibly 7/16". Are the rope clutches on a 1981 J/30 compatible with 3/8" line? (I tried it, and the clutch did close and grip the line, but I'm not sure how tightly....)

Thanks,
Ryan Pierce, #337

Contact "Hank" at Layline. He has a J-30 and has most or all of the sizes etc on file. He is also very helpfull and knowledgeable. Layline has a good selection of lines and decent prices.

3/8 should fit the old spinlocks. Watch out for 10mm line... although my clutches are labeled for 10mm, it's tight enough to put drag on line so it doesn't run "really free".

Hank has been a great help. Another good source (IMHO) is Mike Robinson at Rigger's World,(718)428-4610, mike@riggersworld.com, 40-27 220th Street Bayside, NY 11361. Great prices on Harken hardware, running rigging, etc. Strong J/29 background. Not a stranger to J/30s. He's talked me out of spending a few bucks on stuff he didn't think I needed!

Has Henry Mallard started calling himself Hank? He's been a great promoter/supporter of our class and owns a J/30 (though regrettably for sale). I think you don't want your mainsail or your halyard to stretch. Your main is getting worn out by tacking (which you can't avoid) and luffing in high winds. Double braid poly is fine for control lines and sheets, but I wouldn't turn the clock back to the 1980's and use it for a main or jib halyard. Super high tech line is overkill unless you wish to handle dental floss. Try a Dyneema/Spectra core with a poly cover. Gordon Latrobe (Shaken not Stirred) made us a set using Samson Warpspeed 3/8" for the main, 5/16" for the jib. He also installed a nice set of lifelines on Bebop. Gordon's rigging company is at 410-626-8855 www.northernbayrigging.com.

Be carefull, we once had a problem in replacing the wire halyard with rope. The wire made a groove in the sheave and when we replaced the wire, with rope, the new rope halyard locked into the sheave and would not go up. We had to replace both sheaves in the mast head.

I had a similar experience, with wire induced chafe fraying a nice new kevlar main halyard, causing the halyard to break after two seasons (in the middle of a race that we were winning!). Replaced sheave and halyard, now everythings's fine.