Messenger Line to Halyard Join

[AWT2_Sail]

Originally Posted by Stephen_MO

Hi Cruisers. I wonder if you could help me. I have just climbed my mast on my C27 and after great pains got a messenger line dropped to replace my main halyard which broke and went up *into* the mast and is gone. Since my main halyard is what I would use to ascend the mast using the cloth step line and a safety belt, I was forced to route the spinnaker halyard around the mast/stays to the back side. It meant that I couldn't hoist the step belt quite to the top of the mast and made things awkward/sketchy to say the least, but I got a small messenger line dropped over the sheave and down the mast and out the exit hole in the mast at the bottom. Catalina says the halyard line should be 5/16 and I have that, but here is the issue. I need to join the messenger line and the halyard in a way that is strong and where the joint is smaller than 5/16 so that the line passes through the sheave and down the mast. When I have tried to join them with various techniques and even with only one layer of gorilla tape, it is too big to go over the sheave; I am afraid if I pull harder it will come apart and I will screw myself as I *DO NOT* want to go up the mast again in that condition and am now facing having the boat pulled and unstepping the mast and re-stepping and relaunching .

1. Can anyone give me a recommendation on a STRONG, slim and flexible way to join two lines of unequal size?


Thanks in advance.

Stephen
SV Flying Tigress

I just stitched a doubled length of chalk line into the end of the halyard with a heavy hand sewing needle (Speedy Stitcher) and fed it down into the sheave. I whipped that chalk line several times around the end of the halyard so the messenger would hold the end straight in line before feeding it down.

[SV_FlyingTigress]

Thanks all, I appreciate the suggestions. I will try integrating several of the suggestions.

[Hobby]

Use the above suggestions then as one last help…After the messenger and halyard are attached, walk aft with the halyard and feed it from the stern, holding it high up. Have a helper pull down the messenger.
This avoids the splice having to make a 180 degree turn at the sheave, now more like a 135 degrees, which may go around the sheave more easily.

[SV_FlyingTigress]

Thanks Hobby, I thought of that as well, I put a block on the stern rail to reduce the redirection angle. Having it up higher may help as well, let me look at what I can cobble together. Good suggestion.

[donregan]

I have sewn and whipped lines to reeve them thru mast but next time (coming up) I will use heat shrink tubing as well.


Good luck, fair winds.

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by stormalong

It is called a reeving eye. Not as strong an a standard splice but plenty good for reeving.

Reavers?
Firefly Series.
BYD

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Boatyarddog

Reavers?
Firefly Series.
BYD

Well, you got my curiosity going. Just looked it up. Reeve is to to fasten by passing through a hole or around something. Reave is to plunder or rob.

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Well, you got my curiosity going. Just looked it up. Reeve is to to fasten by passing through a hole or around something. Reave is to plunder or rob.

Ahh!, if you've not seen the series, you'd love it.
Space age old school piracy, on another level.
Netflix.
And your second definition is correct with respect to (Reave), rob and plunder in this excellent series.
Check it out, there is also a movie based on the series, Serenity!
The movie.

https://www.google.com/search?client...MgQ1QJ6BAgAEAg

The series, https://www.google.com/search?q=fire...&client=safari

Enjoy!
Boatyarddog

[StuM]

Originally Posted by stormalong

It is called a reeving eye. Not as strong an a standard splice but plenty good for reeving.

AKA a Flemish Eye.

[bailsout]

Have you tried Shoo-goo or Goop? It’s my liquid duct tape. Removing some of the core and gluing it in might do it.

[s/v Jedi]

Yes, it is called a Flemish eye splice. It uses just the outer cover so that it runs over the sheaves with the messenger line tied to it.

Below a picture of one I did

[Martkimwat]

I have whipped loops into the ends of all my halyards so I only need to put a bowline or halyard knot in the mousing line to pull them through, Oh and I had a fortuitous discovery the other day when my halyard shackle exploded and my mainsail dropped. I have a small length (about a foot) of 5mm line attached to the halyard, to hold the mainsail down when not in use. When the shackle broke, the only thing still visible to get hold of was the small piece of line. My topping lift is not strong enough to carry someone to the top of the mast, but by taping a piece of small bore plastic tube which I had lying around (1/8" did.) and some fishing trace, I managed to make a form of snare that hung down from the top of the tube with the end running down inside the tube and attached to a length of mousing line. By pulling the whole assembly up the mast on the topping lift (end to ended it so that it could be retrieved if necessary) I was able to capture the small piece of line, snug it tight with the mousing line, then pull the whole lot back down the mast, even though the wind was blowing F4 to F5. The tube is available from most model shops, usually in 4 ft lengths and is used for among other things, as the outer sleeve of pushrods for model aircraft controls. Well worthwhile keeping a length on board, along with some wire fishing trace.

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by jt11791

Remove a couple inches of the core on the new line. Insert the end of the messenger line into the empty cover and stitch in place.

That's an idea!

[Winter River]

Originally Posted by Stephen_MO

Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking of somehow using whipping thread as well. I don't have splicing fids to make a reaving splice so was hoping for some more DIY oriented suggestions.

You don't need fids to do a reeving splice. A folded piece of wire works in lieu of the D-splicer.

Reeving eye

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Winter River

You don't need fids to do a reeving splice. A folded piece of wire works in lieu of the D-splicer.

This is exactly like I do these. The extra whipping on mine is just to create the Dutch red, white and blue