[MHml] Main Halyard

[Paul Nudd]

Rob Denney wrote:
> G'day,
> 
> Presumably the knot with the big losses we are referring to is the bowline.
> Equally presumably, the area where the rope goes round the shackle (the
> bight of the knot) is not where the ropes break.
> 
> Therefore, if you take two or more turns around the shackle (better would be
> a large diameter rod in the head of the sail), and use a knot such as a
> fisherman's bend or even a round turn and two half hitches, the standing
> part of the rope will not be under any strain so will have 100% of capacity.
> The problem is untying it as these knots jam, but it is simple enough to put
> a small tapered pin in the knot to enable it to be loosened.
> 
> More elementary problems with a jammer at the mast head are: weight in a
> really bad place, cost, complexity (2 lines going to the masthead and a
> relatively complex mechanism a long way from the tool box), lack of fail
> safety (trigger line fouls, breaks or comes undone) and inefficiency when
> reefed.  Better and easier is a simple, fail safe catch which works at the
> reef points as well as full hoist with the halyard also working as an
> engage/disengage trigger.
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My 1:1 vectran halyard actually failed just beyond the bowline.
My new 2:1 will be attached at the masthead by a shackle.
Guess I'll use a round turn and two half hitches to attach to the 
shackle. I do not anticipate having to untie the knot. When time comes 
to end-for-end I would undo the shackle and cut off the rope.
Even if the knot gets pulled up against the edges of the sailhead block 
it shouldn't cause loss of strength of the loadbearing part of the rope.
I will happily live with the mast compression load for the sake of 
simplicity and fail-safe ability to get the sail down in a hurry.
PN