Halyard Mistake?

[cadteach]

OK, I've got a question about a possible mistake I may have made. We've got a short season here up north, and I needed new halyards, and being new to sail ing I went to my local shop to get replacements made.

They made new halyards out of sat-set , rather than sta-set x, as that is what they had on hand, and what they told me locally everyone uses except for racers. I agreed to it, not knowing if there was or wasn't any type of difference.

They don't even carry sta-set x in stock.

Did I just make a $300 mistake? We daysail, only in nice weather, and rarely get caught in any sort of heavy wind.

Any idea how these are going to perform? Our boat is 30', and I really only have about 60+ foot of rope up and back on the main, and a little more on the jib (on a roller).

[goboatingnow]

I presume you mean sta-set over sta-set x


In practice tensile strength is similar but sta-set has more stretch. Hence you be inclined to loose luff tension and hence will require more adjustment.

It will work , just not quite as good, sta-set is used for running rigging generally , sta-set x for halyards.

Go sailing

Dave

[model 10]

So they get $300 for 2 60' halyards? Thats like $2.50 a foot for line that costs 70 cents per foot. So you paid $200 for an 2 eye splices? It has just one eye splice right, maybe a super-duper shackle too? Oh well, lots of boats have the same. Next time insist on what you want. The difference in cost between Sta-set and X is small and some think the eye splice is easier to do. Funny the rigger did not have something with less give. Think how much beer you could buy for $200? + it would only take a few 6 packs to learn yourself

[colemj]

You will be just fine with the Sta-Set as halyards. You will not notice any difference between that and StaSet X on your boat. There is no difference in strength and no practical difference in stretch that will be noticeable on your boat in your sailing conditions.

Smaller boat casual racers who fine tune their rigs will use a lower stretch line SSX and competition racers and larger boats will use much more expensive line with very little stretch and more strength in smaller sizes.

You did not make a mistake, so don't think about it anymore and enjoy your short season.

Mark

[SkiprJohn]

No mistake! Use them and be happy. Unless you are a very economically deprived sailor the cost will not be an issue. Next time you can be like me and go get the cheapest thing possible and tie knots in the end but by then you'll be on to a bigger boat and not worried about it.
kind regards,

[thinwater]

I suspect they don't stock Stay-Set X because many folks don't like it. It handles badly. I've had both, as well as nigh-mod halyards, and personally I'm not sure I'd take Stay-set X for free. The others I like.

For your use, Stay-Set is the better choice, hands down.

[model 10]

I find Sta-Set more like a bungy cord, but it does feel nicer than Sta-Set X for sure.

[daddle]

Yes, Sta-Set is a poor choice for halyards. But usable. You'll be fiddling with luff tension often. One other problem is stretchy line tends to work and wear at the sheaves and gates more. So it may not last as long. Sta-Set X is okay for halyards, but there are much better lines available. A spectra core would be nice. And to save money you can go down in size.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by daddle

Yes, Sta-Set is a poor choice for halyards. But usable. You'll be fiddling with luff tension often. One other problem is stretchy line tends to work and wear at the sheaves and gates more. So it may not last as long. Sta-Set X is okay for halyards, but there are much better lines available. A spectra core would be nice. And to save money you can go down in size.

For your boat, all of this is definitely true. For the OP's 30' casual cruising boat, this would be overkill and money spent for no noticeable advantage.

Mark

[cadteach]

Thanks all for the replies. I'll have to live with them and see how they do. If it doesn't work, I could cut off the shackles and re-purpose them some way or sell them if needed.

To clarify a few things, I didn't spend $2.50 a foot. The halyards are a little over 200' total. The 60' I mentioned was my guess as to how much line would actually be in tension, subject to stretching.

I've got a 30' boat, single spreader, and though I don't know exactly, I imagine about 40' to 45' from winch to top of mast (My winch is on the mast).

So when the main is up, only about 45' max. amount of line under load, if I'm reefed, then maybe about 60'.

I was just trying to convince myself that the difference in stretch, in real terms, isn't actually that much if measured in inches.

Thanks again all, hopefully they will be fine. We have a short season here in Michigan, time to get out for a sail.

[Wotname]

More likely to have 35' max. between winch to mast top.
Re-read what Colemj posted; IMO he is spot on.
You don't sound like a high tech racer type, you will be fine. It wasn't that long back when your Sta-set was considered high tech

And yes, go sailing and enjoy!