main halyard

[berenicedebeuzev]

What size sheet do people use for main halyard?? and length??
Also i found a rachet block which as a cleat already on it.
Am i allowed to use this as my main sheet block?? so save me placing main cleats onto my deck?
Thanks for the help

[heymacaulay]

It is legal to use a ratchet block with a cleat. As for the halyard I use stainless steel wire.

Phillip Johnson
National Measurer

[heymacaulay]

Hi Ronny,

I am using a 5mm spectra halyard, length of about 10.5m – 11m should do the trick.

Regards,

Alan Riley
Sabre 1564

[berenicedebeuzev]

thanks 4 that help…
will replace the main halyard this week
how many people in victoria have main cleats??.. whats the best way to do it.

[heymacaulay]

Only a handfull of people would use a mainsheet cleat here in Victoria. I’m not aware of any of the top skippers that use one. Personally, I don’t think it is necessary since you are always playing the mainsheet. Additionally, if you hold the tiller with the same grip as you’d use on a telescope you can hold the tiller across the front of your body. This technique makes it easy to hold the mainsheet and tiller in the one hand while you make an adjustment with the other.

Alan Riley
Sabre 1564

[berenicedebeuzev]

Thank you again alan
Can i ask what size main sheet you are using??.
Also on another topic, can i ask how loose you run your rig tennsion??..and what rake you have you boat set at..I know that it changes from boat to boat due to mast step, but if i have a starting point, its better than nothing!!
cheers

[heymacaulay]

I use an 8mm mainsheet – thinner than most. However, I also have my ratchet block up on the boom so it grabs better since the rope is turning nearly 180 degrees around it, as opposed to about 70 degrees if it’s the last block coming from the floor of the boat.

I’d have to look up my measurements for mast step and mast rake, don’t have them at hand right now. My mast step is towards the back of the tolerances – about 25 mm in from the minimum when measured from the sail track to the rear corner of the transom.

A good rule of thumb for mast rake is to set it up so that if a vertical line is dropped from the mast head when the boat is level, the line would intersect somewhere between the bulkhead and 25mm behind the bulkhead.

It is important to keep your rig tension consistent if you want a specific mast rake, since the more you tighten the forestay, the more the mast is pulled forward.

I don’t know how to tell you what my rig tension is, apart from telling you it is tighter than average and the forestay goes slack when going downwind in about 15 knots. The more rig tension you use, the more the mast will bent when you pull on the sail controls. In general, a lighter person needs more rig tension than a heaver person. However, the main thing is to match your mast bend to the sail. I find my older sails have gone softer and got a little fuller, so they need more rig tension than my newer (championship) sail.

Hope this helps!

Alan

[Author]

Posts