[MHml] Main Halyard

[Paul Nudd]

Gordon Myers wrote:
> 
> 
> Hi Paul,
>       I can probably supply you a 2:1 Vectran halyard for about the same
> price you would pay for a spectra one.  Drop me a line with length required
> and I will give you a price.
> Gordon Myers.  
> www.gmsails.com 
> ------------------------------------

When I got XL2 (1991) it had a 2:1 main halyard of 10 mm kevlar 
(actually 8mm kevlar with a polyester cover). In 1993 or 4 the kevlar 
started breaking (2 or 3 times) so I replaced it with 8mm spectra and it 
was fine. When I took the kevlar home and stripped off the cover the 
core could be broken by hand, all the strength being in the cover.
We lost the rig in 1995 and a new bigger rig with 20% bigger mainsail 
was installed. The new rig was fitted with 1995 vesion spectra 8mm 2:1 
and on its first sail the halyard broke. It was replaced with 1995 
version spectra 10mm 2:1. This did fine for 3 years but in 1998 I was 
able to get a offcut of 11?mm vectran (9mm vectran with polyester 
cover), nearly long enough for a 1:1 halyard so I added a couple of 
metres of 10 mm spectra to the (unloaded) tail and used it until now. It 
broke at the knot last November and we re-tied it, losing about a foot 
of length. Still working ok. The mainsail head drops about 4 inches 
under load and the luff is tensioned according to mainsheet tension with 
a tackle on the tack. With the old spectra 2:1 we used to run out of 
travel at the bottom (trying to pull the tack below the boom). With the 
1998 vectran 2:1 we don't run out of travel. I want to go back to 2:1 
and was intending to use 2007 version spectra 10mm, hoping not to run 
out of travel on the tackdownhaul. Gordon can supply 10mm vectran at a 
better price than I can get elsewhere for 10mm spectra so I will pay 
less for a better result. On Creighton's advice I will use a knot rather 
than a splice.

Headsail halyard will need replacing soon - currently using 1995 version 
spectra 8mm, will replace with 8mm vectran from Gordon.


PN