[MHml] Main Halyard

[Larry Forgy]

The owner of a Reynolds 33 showed me an interesting way to attach the 
main halyard.  He tied a stopper knot in the end of the line.  Then he 
doubled the line for 4 or 5 inches and pushed the loop through the 
grommet in the mainsail headboard.  Then he took the end of the line 
with the stopper knot, wrapped it over the top of the headboard and 
inserted the stopper knot into the halyard loop on the other side.  He 
pulled the halyard to take out all the slack, so that he had a halyard 
than came from the mast head down to and through the headboard grommet, 
around a loop, back through the headboard, over the top of the 
headboard, and down through the halyard loop, terminating in a stopper knot.

I was a little nervous about this arrangement, since the halyard 
conceivably could come loose from the mainsail, but I used it last 
season with no problems at all.  It solves a number of problems.  After 
all those turns, there is little stress on the stopper knot, and I can't 
imagine it failing there.  Plus, it takes up absolutely none of the 
hoist of the main.  In fact, if your luff arrangements allowed it, you 
could hoist the main until the headboard grommet was up to the turning 
block.

Larry Forgy