How to hoist a courtesy flag

[reed1v]

Gee, slander the poor Chinese will we? Just because England lost Hong Kong does not mean those folks do not produce excellent work. Personally I prefer grommets(or Grommet n Wallace) at both ends because its quick to attach and unattach. Plus no fumbling with knots for inexperienced crew. Now be nice to the Chinese. They have a lot on their plate to deal with.

[monte]

Ok a couple of name calling posts had to be deleted. Let's remember be courteous to other members (especially in a courtesy flag thread...)

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by monte

Ok a couple of name calling posts had to be deleted. Let's remember be courteous to other members (especially in a courtesy flag thread...)

Courtesy has to be earned in a polite society. I call a spade a spade, a shovel a shovel and a stalking troll a troll, I guess that is verboten here, mea culpa. I will retire, suitably chastised but not going to be a victim, ever.

[Hudson Force]

I'm probably more simplistic in process of attaching courtesy flags to the flag halyard. I find that I'm able to simply tie them on. I have not found it worthwhile to purchase clips, springs, or auxiliary devices. Who can't take a short piece of small stuff and tie it on?

[reed1v]

simple springed hinge clips are a snap to attach and take off. Bronze is best but stainless also works.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

I'm probably more simplistic in process of attaching courtesy flags to the flag halyard. I find that I'm able to simply tie them on. I have not found it worthwhile to purchase clips, springs, or auxiliary devices. Who can't take a short piece of small stuff and tie it on?

Here Here!

[TheThunderbird]

How do you prevent the flag halyard from turning around!?

I had to keep the two lines quite apart

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by TheThunderbird

How do you prevent the flag halyard from turning around!?

I had to keep the two lines quite apart

OCD...???

[reed1v]

What a baffling question. If your flag halyards are made of a continuous loop, should not have any problems, assuming all is under constant tension. You have raised a flag up a flag pole, yes?

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by TheThunderbird

How do you prevent the flag halyard from turning around!?

I had to keep the two lines quite apart

Oh my! Well, I allow it to turn around at the whim of the wind. Later, when taking it down, I cleverly remove the twist with my hands on the lines. There's really not anything to worry about.

[TheThunderbird]

The loop takes the flags up till beneath the spreader.

Whatever the tension, flags whirl around to a point that makes it hard to dispose them.

I had to separate the loop terminals, but I don't like it

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by TheThunderbird

The loop takes the flags up till beneath the spreader.

Whatever the tension, flags whirl around to a point that makes it hard to dispose them.

I had to separate the loop terminals, but I don't like it

Ok, I've made light of this issue, but maybe my conditions are different. When I end up with a twist in my flag halyard at the time that I want to lower the flags; I stand on my deck with the bottom of the continuous loop in my hands. I can see if the twist is clockwise or counter by my position and I counteract the twist with my end of the loop. Maybe this s the point where things differ.

My spreaders are only about 35 feet off my deck on my 41' boat and when I stretch out my hands the angle at the flags is great enough to dislodge any twist. I can imagine on a larger boat with higher spreaders, the angle would be less and the flags would remain entangled. I would need to have an assistant stand apart with the second line and try to untangled the "maypole" with much more difficulty.

So many things are easier on a smaller boat. maybe this is another one!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

I'm probably more simplistic in process of attaching courtesy flags to the flag halyard. I find that I'm able to simply tie them on. I have not found it worthwhile to purchase clips, springs, or auxiliary devices. Who can't take a short piece of small stuff and tie it on?

Just duct tape the tie's to a shroud.. no twisted lines..

[seaward 42]

have a loop made with bowline for the eye at the top of the flag and tie the bottom end with a double sheet bend.

[TrentePieds]

A curious question indeed :-) Why would the halyard twist in the first place? A brand new halyard might try to twist if you don't put it under tension in order to get the factory supplied strains outta it before you reeve it , even if it is braid. If that's the problem, belay one end on shore somewhere along you dock, take the other end around a sheet winch and crank it up and let it go again a few times until the strains have been worked out of it.

If you let both the ascending and descending parts of the halyard run through the same hand as you provide the hoisting pull with the other, the two parts cannot twist around each other, and when you belay the two parts together on the cleat tensioning the standing parts slightly they cannot twist around each other while belayed.

When TrentePieds came to us some ning - a rigger apparently - had spiced the messenger for the mast furling main into a continuous loop without taking the strains out before he did so. Took six hands to handle the main because the loop tried to make itself into a two-strand laid hawser :-)!

TrentePieds