J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Has anyone replaced wire/rope halyards with new wire/rope?

I'm getting my J/30 ready to start racing it in some offshore races out of Charleston and have a large list of necessary upgrades (expect lots of questions from me to come!).

New jib halyards are high on the list. I've read all the threads about sheave replacement, line shredding, burring, etc. and I am tempted to simply get new wire/rope halyards made just to save the hassle. I live 4 hours from the boat so I really need simple "order then install" solutions...

Has anyone skipped all the mess and simply gotten new wire/rope halyards? Any huge reasons I wouldn't want to take this route?

If so, anyone have a good source?

Thanks!

-Dan

Given the price and availability of very high quality, very low stretch line, I just can't imagine going back with the wire/rope halyards. Replacing the sheaves is not a big deal.

If you're prepping the boat for offshore racing, it is not a bad idea at all to drop the rig for normal maintenance (replacing bulbs, checking the mast at the spreaders, checking the location and condition of the mast step, etc, etc, etc). The money you save in not having the wire/rope halyards spliced should cover the costs of dropping the rig.

If your current sheaves have burrs or flat spots, they should be replaced anyway.

If you find it helpful, my own experience with this is documented at the links below:

http://www.rambunctiousracing.com/sheaveissues.html

http://www.rambunctiousracing.com/mastwork.html

I concur with Jason on not going back to wire halyards and doing a mast inspection. Having raced to Bermuda last year reinforces the need to inspect the rig for off-shore racing. If your boat does not have the J/30 spreader bar fix, you are asking for trouble going off shore. Your mast will pump and you stand a good chance on losing the rig.

Spreader Bar Fix Thread
Another Spreader Bar Thread

While it's down, a good time to inspect, and replace if necessary any wiring and light fixtures too. (mine was all corroded). The sheave inspection, lubrication and replacement of parts is an easy task. You should check out where in Charleston you can get parts that you discover you need once the rig is down since you are 4 hours away. Prior planning can make it a productive time without waiting for parts.

The first time I replaced halyards, in 1988 or 1989, I replaced them with rope/wire. Since then no wire. I cannot image a single reason you would want to use wire.

As to dropping and checking the mast, isn't this done at least once per year? And, I assume it would be done prior to any serious off shore race.
I too concur on the spreader fix. Other than drilling out the old pop rivits, the repair was pretty simple and well worth the peice of mind on my 23 year old mast.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Looks like I will be dropping my mast! As a commuter, the problem is when I have to do work to figure out what parts I need, order parts, then install them after they arrive. With a 4-hour drive in between cycles, some repairs can take months (replacing the port lights was a bear...)

I should clarify that the "offshore racing" I plan to do, while competitive, is more of an "offshore challenge" - mainly overnight runs in the 90-130nm range (some of the classes have time deductions for size of fish caught, if that give you an idea...). We race on smaller boats in Atlanta, and mainly day-sail the J/30, so it doesn't get quite the same level of attention.

Also, all of the yards around Charleston will not let you TOUCH your boat while it is at their facilities. The closest self-service yard is a couple inlets south.

It sounds like if I have the spreader kit and tools, light bulbs, tape, and the new halyards ready to go, and if I can find a local source with a variety of sheaves, I should be able to knock it all out in a single day.

Thanks for the help!

-Dan

You can do it in a single day, easily. As you point out, though, preparation will make things much easier. You may want to go up in a boatswain's chair the week before and give everything a careful inspection. It would be a pain to drop the rig and then spend the day hunting for spreader boots, or tangs, or whatever.

White Dolphin refered to a "spreader kit"
Is there such a thing?
I have seen different spreader repairs in the forum but not refered to as a kit
My mast is presently down and a kit would be interesting

Taras

Taras - Call Corey Butlin at Hall spars and see what he's got.
Info in this thread.

Rob Van Name used the Annapolis Rigging kit for Nordic Star as described in this thread. The contact person at Annapolis rigging is Jay Herman. His cell number is 410-493-9522.

Rob's Blog installation instructions and picture of the installation.

I installed the spreader bar kit from Annapolis rigging. A relatively easy task but do make sure that the original spreader brackets were mounted at exactly the same position opposite one another. Because, the mounting holes of the new stainless steel spreader plates fit the old bracket holes and the new plates are used as templates for cutting the slots for the new spreader bar. If the original spreader brackets were not mounted at exactly the same position opposite one another the slots will not be either, resulting in spreaders at odd angles to the mast. Logical? I only noticed it after completion of the installation. Even a slight variance has a significant impact on the spreader angles due to the mast width. Although it has no structural implications it is aesthetically most anoying.

I followed that older thread to Annapolis sailing
450$ for a aluminum flatbar and two curved plates!

That's like 100$ of material / time max to fabricate
Is he still charging as much?

Does anyone have a template?...I know metal fabricators here in Canada

Taras