My halyard had swoillen, and became so stiff the main would not fall. The halyard had not lost it's integrity. Just it's willingness to let the main fall on it's own........i2f

Gar-dur or similar.

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Regards,

Maren

The sea is always beautiful, sometimes mysterious and, on occasions, frighteningly powerful.

None whatsoever. I once saw a micarta sheave which had wire halyard over it, which had done 11 trips from New Zealand to Fiji and back . Not a trace of wear. My micarta sheave has 25 years of full time cruising with a 1/4 inch galv wire halyard over it and shows no sign of wear.
I prefer the 1/4 inch halyards over smaller ones, as the greater diameter reduces the chances of it ever jumping the sheave. Never had that happen to me, but I've seen it happen with smaller wire halyards .

Halyard/ line reality check

wire/rope halyards - require a different sheave than all rope ones. With the proper sheave they work just fine. Typically most folks go with all rope halyards for a few reasons. One is weight aloft - wire is heavy - I remember when I first changed out my wire/rope halyards on my Frers36 [race boat] lost at least 25 lbs going to a spectra/kevlar halyard which is no longer made. Other reason is meat hooks etc as others have said. Lastly the big benefit that racers went to wire in the first place was 0 stretch.

High tech vs low tech vs medium tech. With any of the high tech lines you will have so much strenght by the time you get to a size that feels OK it will be silly. On my 60' hoist I can get enough strength with 3/8 inch line to do the job - I just can't work with it and it's really expensive. So I use something like XLS extra for the jib and main and it works. Getting more than 7 years is pretty easy as long as you don't chafe through [like I did on my main a few years ago ;( ] I run 'fancy' laminate sails so halyard tension is even more important than if you are not. The guides are a great starting place. If you are just starting out and a real cruiser regular old stay set will work just fine. stay set X was developed for racers who wanted a little less stretch. All the other manufactures just make their version. So talk to a good rigging shop if you are really not sure, some of them can be more competitive than you think. Go to the local chandleries and feel the difference between the lines and you will begin to understand. You do not need real high tech line to get the job done.

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Jon D
SV Sirius
Moody 47

I've always used the same sheaves since 1974 for wire as for rope. No problem. I've never had a meathook since then. Never any problem with galv halyards. I have had to go aloft single handed at sea to replace chaffed thru rope halyards , never happen with wire. Don't ever want to do that again.
So if I've never had the problems you describe in 36 years of mostly full time cruising, and 8 Pacific crossings , when am I going to have them? Could it possibly be that your predictions are way off ? Sure looks that way.
The weight of my 36 ft of 1/4 inch wire is minimal.
Don't sweat the petty things , and dont pet the sweaty things.

Brent - couple of observations.. you have it all figured out - rest of us don't. Two with 36' of 1/4 cant really compare to 60' of hoist. All I said is what others [not you] have experienced so he can make an informed decision. Most of us cruising use different solutions than you do. Not right not wrong.. they just different.

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Jon D
SV Sirius
Moody 47

Thanks for you help Jon. I'm sure wire works, Brent. Maybe it's just because it's different, but I'm not interested in wire halyards.

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"Everybody has to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer."
--W.C. Fields

Hunter 36
s/v FUGUE
Kemah, Tx.

One other thing is that you can end for end your halyards. If the halyeard is worn and/or before it gets too sun rotted. you can just switch out the top for the bottom and get a few more years out of the halyard.

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"Money is not the only thing one has to spend; the other thing is life. The difference is that you never know how much is in the bank, or what your balance is. Your life is your inheritance. As soon as you realize this, you start trying to spend your life wisely." - From "Advice to the Sealorn" by Herb Payson.

Most people who don't like wire halyards have either never tried them, or never had proper galv halyards properly set up.

The same can be said for people who don't like composting heads.
or a myriad of things.

The fact is that some boats are set up for wire halyards and some are set up for rope.
People get used to what they have and are resistant to change. It's human nature.
Nobody is arguing that wire halyards are a good way to go for people who are used to them and boats that are set up for them.

Not everyone in the world is evolved enough yet for wire halyards, composting heads and square sails.