Here's a problem I can't solve...

[foothillsailor]

My thoughts are to remove the wrapped halyard from the mast so that you are then free to work in getting it off the stay:.

Here's how I'd do it: get a tennis ball or soft rubber ball; insert a LIGHT string through its middle (light enough so that you could snap it if you need to in case it gets caught around something); ease out a lot of your halyard so that it sags down in a big loop between the top of the mast and where it is hung up on the rear stay; throw ball over loop in halyard; retrieve ball; attach a messenger line (more than twice the length of your mast) to the end of halyard at base of mast; attach a stronger line to the light line that you have previously attached to the ball; using the messenger line attached to the ball draw a stronger line over the halyard loop; using this stronger line pull the loop of the halyard down to the cockpit floor until you come to the joint between the halyard and its messenger line that has been drawn up the mast from its base and which you now have in hand; untie the halyard from its messenger line and secure thismessenger line so that it doesn't escape; with all of halyard now free in your hand go to the rear stay and start unwinding the halyard from the bottom; hopefully the halyard will unwrap or possibly start to slide down the stay. If you still can't get the halyard unwrapped from the rear stay then run a new hayard up the mast & cut off as much of the wrapped halyard as high up as you can (or coil the wrapped halyard and wait until it slides down the rear stay or rots off) ---go sailing with the new halyard or hike someone up in a bosuns chair along your topping lift to where they can reach the wrap.--go sailing.

Just my 2 bits --beats standing on the stern waving poles, boathooks, brooms etc in the air while getting a very stiff neck

[Cheechako]

Lesson learned: do not leave your halyard connected to the sail at the marina.

[foothillsailor]

better yet--mouse all your shackles

[Dave22q]

Slack the halyard. Use your fishing rod to toss a weight over the halyard near the stay. Use the fishing line to pull a line over your halyard then pull down hopefully getting the wrap to reverse. If that fails find a local kid or hungry sailor to handle. I'm old enough to never climb a mast but when I was younger I still preferred paying to unskilled climbing. Anyway if the tangle is really bad you might simply replace the halyard and cut off the old one. Remove the tangle when in a handy location like near a low bridge.

[ryon]

Originally Posted by hamburking

At my local marina (POH, Kingston), when something like this happens, or even just a halyard has gone up to the top of the mast, they make use of the tall ship St Lawrence II. You come alongside (after getting permission from the captain of course) and tie up securely. Then a couple strategically placed people (the fatter the better) heel your boat over a bit. Then a crewman from the tall ship goes up their ratlines and grabs, fixes, or whatever. . .

I'll offer the help of the brig Pilgrim, but only if the OP agrees to buy a beer for any of our over-70 crew who are NOT afraid to climb twenty feet off the deck. Could get a little expensive!

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Trim50

Open a cock, get in dinghy, wait for halyard to reach the surface of the water and grab it before it goes down with the boat. EPPZ.

OK, this one beats mine! Go with this one!

[roland stockham]

How about taking the stay off at the bottom (assuming you have lowers or at least swept back spreaders) and bringing it amid ships. The halyard will then be lower, you can stand on the cabin top for more reach an with the stay vertical it may even shake down a bit more so you can reach it with a boat hook

[GafferMate]

Don't understand--why not simply get someone else who doesn't have issues with a bosun's chair to go up the mast?

[davecoles]

You may be able to release your backstay until it hangs vertically and then reach the halyard with a boathook

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

....
Fill another 70 plus with jungle juice and wager them $5 they can't get it down.

+10! The old codger Tom Sawyer approach.

[Mithril Bham]

Hire a kid

[Mithril Bham]

Trade for some sailing time

[roverhi]

I'm 71 and go up the mast regularly with the 'MAST CLIMBER'. Find a victim and hoist them up in a bosun's chair if you won't do it yourself. Once you get it down, cut the shackle off use a Buntline hitch to attach it to the sail and tie it off when not in use with a bowline.

[groundtackle]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Hey, I'm 77 and I go up our mast whenever it is needed. However, I'd be a bit leery of doing it on such a small boat as a Grampian 26. Lighter halyards, smaller winches, less stability... not such a brilliant prospect for anyone over about 100 lbs or so IMO. So, I'll cut the OP a lot of slack... do it from deck level, use a small boy (or girl), get the boat near to a higher structure and heel her over enough to reach the snarl... lots of options with fewer serious downsides are available.



Jim

I just spent an hour or so up my mizzen which is about the size of a cal-20 main. I'm 200lbs and had no problem. Up on the mizzen halyard with the mizzen staysail halyard for a back up. I think either of these lines better be able to hold me and it was fine. Maybe i was being crazy but I'm still here
Nick


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[astokel]

AND THE WINNER IS...

Thank you everyone for your ideas. I have decided to go with this one:

Originally Posted by Don C L

OK here goes. Lash a boat hook to the backstay in such a way that it can slide up and down. Have a line tied to its lower end that is about 25' long. Get two 10' lengths of pvc pipe and push the boat hook up lashing the pipes to the backstay as you go so it is not flopping around. Duct tape the boat hook to the pipe so that once the boat hook is up you can turn the pipe and turn the hook as needed to pass the halyard. Hopefully the hook will go up and catch the halyard and then you can pull it back down the backstay to a level easier to grab or snag and untie. You may need to add some line to the halyard so the end of it can travel up to the mast head and be retrieved too. Not sure if that makes sense but that's what I'd try.