Hi Bill,
Thanks for the great advice! I suspected the line might be too thick but had a hard time believing that 1/16" would make that big of a difference. Your post confirms it. I'll switch to a thinner halyard. I'll send someone up soon to check on the sheaves and make sure there aren't any sharp edges (not equipped to ascend myself).
I like the idea of crossing masts to do the work! I'd also thought about ascending on the halyard and installing two fold-out steps at the top, suitable for standing on with a safety tie around the mast while doing work on the sheave.
I'm kicking myself for not pushing the boatyard to check on them while the mast was pulled last month. I asked once about it and they forgot.
